Love and all that
by R.O.TR
Summary: Sakaki san, the one person she wants to be with. Kaorin struggles with her feelings and decides to take action...with help from Chiyo Chan. Osaka attempts a story and Kimura hasn't appeared at school. Completed with double update!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Azumanga Daioh or the characters.

I've been out of the one shot game for many years, and only have one to my name so forgive me if this is terrible. It was something spontaneous, written in one sitting close to midnight.

* * *

Love. She found that word almost scary. What it meant to her was what scared her. The one she loved…it just wasn't seen as normal. She didn't even know if love was what it could be called. Could her feelings be considered love, or where they merely the result of the confusing years of teenage life, not quite an understanding adult, no longer a child? She liked to think she could act serious, be respected…yet she couldn't even comprehend one of her biggest most vital feelings. 

Kaorin rested her head in her hands as Kimura continued to talk at the front of the class. She hoped just this once, just for today she wouldn't be seen by him, she could just continue with her school work without being harassed. She knew he meant nothing harmful with it- but it was strange. But at the same time in an odd way it was almost flattering. Here was a man, happily married with a child- but he still had a keen focus on her. Deep down she almost found it…pleasurable? She had the power to make a fully grown man fall to his knees and declare his affection for her.

She gripped her head, confused. But it wasn't men she was interested in! She wasn't interested in that sort of thing, she wasn't interested in boys…

After so many years of denying it, just about hiding it from the others and trying to hide it from herself she admitted it. She wasn't interested in boys. She held no fascination towards them. The others, Chihiro, Tomo and so on always swooned over the boys and men, famous stars, cute boys that lived on their street. She'd always played along, not wanting to stand out. Always pretending to find the boys cute, attractive- but all the time her eyes had been on only one person.

_Sakaki-san. _

Tall, beautiful, her mere appearance lit up Kaorin's day, no matter how dreary it had been. One thoughtful look from her eyes, her exhalation…her tall body sculpted to perfection. She sighed to herself. Summer was here for another two months. More swimming lessons, more Sakaki glistening in the water. She had no idea how she'd made it this long without being discovered. And in a way she almost wanted to be discovered. It'd make it so much more easier. Just the thought of approaching Sakaki scared her- how would the others react? Would her friends accept it or disown her? Would Sakaki turn her down point blank? How would her mother feel about her choice of lifestyle?

And at the same time a faint flash of hope passed across her. She'd never once heard Sakaki declare a crush on any boy, had never seen her show any sign of interest.

Annoyed and frustrated she gripped at her hair, ignoring the look of concern from Chiyo. What should she do? What could she do? She had let it develop so much that she couldn't merely approach Sakaki and tell her…or could she? Sakaki often seemed removed, even cold by some of the class. But Kaorin had seen her. She was a shy girl. She'd seen the occasional looks of pure bliss that passed across her cute face when she was with friends or animals. _And of course those photo's of Sakaki at the beach_. Kaorin grinned as she remembered she had been invited this time- and Miss Sakaki was definitely going. She could spend time with Sakaki, enjoy her company…see her in that stunning bikini and perhaps even do a Tomo and share a bed with her. She nodded her head. She could at least try.

The bell ringed and much of the class stood up, some leaving to pick up snacks, others merely waltzing around the room. This was their own homeroom, Kimura having to move in to this room to teach where his room was temporarily flooded. Her heart skipped a beat as he waved eagerly at her, but slowly he turned and left the room. But not before peering around the door and getting one last look at her.

She gripped the end of her skirt tightly as she composed herself.

"This is it Kaori" she said to herself. "You're just going to walk to Sakaki, ask to speak to her and tell her the truth. You can do it Kaori."

"Hey Kaorin, wanna go get some snacks with me?" asked Tomo, standing beside her desk.

"No thanks!" said Kaorin manically, standing up suddenly. "I have something I have to do! I can't help!" _Go away, go away, go away!_

"Ok Kaorin! Want me to pick something up for you?"

"I'm ok thanks."

She stepped out from behind her desk and began to walk down the small corridor between desk columns, when a group of boys suddenly stepped in her way. Without missing a beat she climbed onto a desk, ignoring the comments, before climbing back down and walking to Sakaki. The tall girl sat in her chair, looking out of the window towards the swimming pool.

"Er…erm, Sakaki?" said Kaorin nervously.

"Huh?" asked Sakaki turning to face the girl, who was now trembling. A look of concern briefly crossed her face. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Oh nothings wrong" said Kaorin before laughing in a chaotic fashion to try and hide her nerves. "I…well I just wanted to talk to you."

Sakaki looked towards the girl. A glimmer of hope was felt within Sakaki- perhaps Kaorin would finally invite her to that group.

"Yeah" continued Kaorin. _You can do this! _"I was just wondering…well have you ever had feelings for anyone?"

"Well not really, I've never thought about it."

"Oh…well surely there must be a boy you like…maybe an actor or someone?"

"I don't know. I think I may be a late developer…there aren't any boys I'm interested in."

Kaorin tried her best to hide the smile bursting to be released. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. I don't know if it's strange or if perhaps I'm…well…"

Kaorin took in a deep breath. She had to do it now, before the fear got the better of her. Thinking about it, this wouldn't be so hard, she could do it.

"Sakaki, I lov-"

_Riiiiiiiinnnnnnnnng! _

Kaorin was wakened from her slumber to find Kimura standing beside her desk.

"You're so cute when you're sleeping" he stated, his gaping mouth wide open.

"Argh!" cried out Kaorin. _Just a stupid dream. _

"Well class dismissed" said Kimura, walking out of the room- but not before peeking once more at Kaorin. He disappeared and the class was left to its own devices.

Despite being nothing more then a dream, Kaorin felt a strange confidence within her. She had been able to say it in a dream without any problem. It was just four words. She could say that. She composed herself (this time for real) and stood up. Walking past Tomo who was busy annoying Yomi, she reached Sakaki. She gently tapped Sakaki on the shoulder and the quiet girl turned.

"Yes?" she asked.

Kaorin took in one deep breath. Now was the time.

"Sakaki. I have something I want to tell you. I…"


	2. Chapter 2

_Well following the reviews, and the fact I've never tried a romance fic before, I've decided to take a plunge and try and continue with this story._

"Sakaki, I- well I" stuttered Kaorin. Within she cursed furiously. She had been so certain she could talk to the girl now. So sure she would finally be able to say the words. She simply couldn't allow herself to stop now…she'd gotten so close now.

"Hmm?" asked Sakaki.

Uh-oh, she didn't like that. Sakaki was now waiting, she'd have to say something quick or the tall beautiful girl would begin to suspect something. But just what would she suspect, what did Kaorin hope she'd suspect…uh oh her thoughts were rambling now, better say something.

"Well Sakaki I-"

"Holy crap!" called out Tomo loudly. "That cloud looks just like a butt!" she said, pointing and rushing to the window. Several people turned, and then joined her, crowding around the confused looking Sakaki and extremely agitated Kaorin who fidgeted with her hands nervously, the pace and rigour of fidgeting growing rapidly as anxiety and anger began to mix.

"No it doesn't" said Yomi.

"Sure it might not look like your butt, I'm talking about a butt that isn't flabby" said Tomo, receiving a karate chop to the head for her outburst. Yomi rearranged her glasses and then walked away in a huff. Slowly the group began to walk away, leaving an unmoving Tomo sprawled across the floor. Kaorin stood perfectly still in horror, now so agitated she didn't quite know what to say.

"Kaorin?" asked Sakaki, touching the girls shoulder to get her attention.

Kaorin swayed slight- Sakaki-san had touched her!

"Y-y-yes!" she said hyperactively.

"You said you wanted to tell me something?"

She was uptight, Sakaki looked confused and Tomo looked unconscious on the floor next to her. Abort! Abort! Abort!

"O-h yeah" she said, before laughing hysterically. "I just wanted to say I'm really looking forward to the trip and…I er I'm personally thanking everyone." _Good lie. _"Thank you Tomo" she said to the girl who groaned in reply, before walking back to her desk and slowly sitting down. She let out a faint moan and then slammed her head into the desk.

A sharp pain shot across her head. Crap, this wasn't good. Everything was slowly turning black. Definitely not… THUD.

---

"Miss Kaori? Miss Kaori?" said the stout woman, standing beside Kaorin who slowly woke up to find herself resting on some kind of bed. Slowly her eyes began to recognize the surroundings, and she saw that she currently sat in the medical room.

"You ok?" asked the woman.

"Me? Oh yeah, I feel ok now." A memory of what had happened earlier returned, and a feeling of nausea slowly passed across the girl. She had had the perfect opportunity to confess to Sakaki, and it had been ruined.

"I'm just going to get your teacher, stay here ok" said the woman, leaving the room.

Kaorin nodded and slowly sat up. She desperately tried to fight the urge to start sobbing uncontrollably. She couldn't allow that to happen- Miss Sakaki would never do something like that, she was too cool. Slowly she became aware of another figure in the room. Tomo sat upon another bed, breathing but still. Tomo! She'd been the one who'd ruined it all! Damn Tomo! With a feeling of extreme anger overcoming her, she slowly climbed off of the bed and walked across to the other girl. Her hands reached out…she was going to throttle the life out of that girl!

As her hands began to close around Tomo's throat the door suddenly swung open. Yukari stepped into the room to find Kaorin caressing Tomo's hair. She looked up at the teacher and just about forced a smile.

"I was really worried about my friend Miss Yukari."

"Don't worry, I'm sure her skull absorbed most of the impact" commented Yukari. "There isn't much in there to damage, so you shouldn't worry yourself."

Kaorin found herself nodding in agreement. Yukari walked across to the girl.

"You feeling ok now?"

She nodded, her head pounding slightly as she did so. Stupid headache.

"Ok, I'd better take you back to class. Word got out about what happened and Mr Kimura was planning on visiting the two of you during his free period."

"Lets go" said a horrified Kaorin. "What about Tomo?"

A Machiavellian like grin crossed her teachers face. "Lets leave her here huh? We don't want Kimura to waste his time do we?"

Kaorin paused. _"Hey that cloud looks like a butt!" _Stupid Tomo. "Yeah, it like, wouldn't be fair on Mr Kimura would it? Lets go…besides she should enjoy her rest." Yukari nodded and practically pulled Kaorin out of the room, planning on escaping before the man arrived. "Goodbye Tomo, have fun" said Kaorin evilly.

---

What had she done?! She tapped her pencil against her desk uneasily, thinking it over and over again. She'd let her anger get the better of her. Tomo, poor Tomo left there on her own. She almost felt sick. Kimura coming to visit- and she was asleep. She couldn't let Tomo face that. The energetic girl may have ruined her chance today, but she was still a friend. A good friend to her. Slowly she raised her hand.

"What is it?" asked Yukari.

"I feel a bit ill again. Can I quickly go to the medical room?"

"Sure fine, and if you're going to throw up, make sure you do it outside Nyamo's room ok."

The girl nodded and walked out of the room, adding in a few faint stumbles for show. Reaching the corridor she promptly broke out into a full sprint, rushing towards the medical room. The nurse was nowhere to be seen as she practically kicked the door open.

She spotted Tomo still asleep on the bed and ran to her, lifting her up. Tomo's eyes slowly opened and she looked towards Kaorin.

"What's going on?"

Kaorin said nothing as she helped Tomo to her feet.

"Ow, that hurts" said Tomo, gripping her head.

"You'll thank me later" replied Kaorin. She suddenly paused. She had heard the familiar sound of shoes against gravel. She glanced out through the window and saw Kimura stepping through the car park, gripping a bouquet of flowers.

"Oh crap." Time was running out quickly. "Come on Tomo, we have to get going."

"Why, what's going on?" asked a groggy Tomo.

"Kimura sensei's coming."

A look of pure panic and horror crossed the girls face and she suddenly seemed much more alert.

"Lets go, lets go!" she said anxiously. Gripping the girl (and blushing when she realized she had her arms tightly wrapped around Tomo's stomach) Kaorin tried to walk as fast as possible towards the door. Tomo stumbled slightly as she tried to walk. Finally she gripped Kaorin's sleeve.

"I'm just slowing you down. Go on…without me" she said weakly.

"Never!" replied Kaorin, feeling a renewed sense of urgent action. The man would be here in under five minutes, if they got going they could be safely back on their way to the haven of Yukari's room. "Now you listen to me Tomo! That's just quitter talk! Just focus, hold onto me and walk damn it! I'm not leaving you behind!"

"T-thank you" said Tomo as they reached the door, Kaorin pushing it open with one of her legs. They stepped out into the corridor, hearing Kimura's shoes squeaking across the polished floor. Trying to keep control of the fear that gripped her, she took hold of Tomo. Both girls used up the last of their strength as they sprinted back towards Yukari's room. Behind them they heard an inhuman yell of pain as Kimura discovered an empty medical room.

Kaorin smiled triumphantly as she pushed open the door and surprised everyone by stepping iside, practically resting a half fainted Tomo on her shoulders. Yukari glanced up, and almost immediately knew what had happened. Besides, the whole class had heard Kimura's yell.

With Kagura's help they rested Tomo in her chair, before Kaorin sat down.

_We made it. _


	3. Chapter 3

Kimura slowly placed the key into the lock, turning it and stepping inside. In his hand he held the bouquet of flowers…well might as well use them. He looked around the house.

"I'm home!" he called out. "Hello?" he asked, walking around the lower floor of the house. No one around. He found that a bit strange. As he walked into the kitchen he spotted a small piece of paper resting by the sink. He picked it up, unfolding it. Slowly he sat down on the floor, flowers forgotten on the table.

---

It was getting close to midnight now, she was just glad tomorrow was Saturday. Kaorin paced around the room thinking desperately about how to approach Sakaki. She'd let a perfect opportunity pass by today, but she couldn't let that get her down. Of course it had all been Tomo's fault, but at the end of the day she had been able to help the girl out, and make up for her sudden spate of anger. And something else…that strange feeling when she had grabbed hold of Tomo, feeling her body close to hers. She shivered slightly. She'd almost liked it.

But then again it was slightly different now- sports and everything she'd always been in close contact with girls. For the last few years she felt an occasional twinge of almost excitement during swimming and athletics lessons. Watching the girls run past, Tomo even Miss Kagura. She'd only ever been truly interested in Sakaki, but thinking about it, she remembered the faint feeling of excitement. Watching the girls, feeling more then just friendly feelings…but no one knowing. She even remembered Miss Yukari's two piece swimming suit. She was now perfectly happy to admit it- girls interested her romantically, not boys. And it felt like such a relief, a release of so much baggage, so much tension.

But Sakaki San was the only one for her. The tall girl sitting on her own as the lessons went by. Annoying some of the class by being excellent at sports without trying- she grinned remembering many of Tomo's outbursts. She just wanted to spend time with Sakaki…make sure she was never lonely again.

"Sure that's nice and everything, but how do I get to that point?" she called out desperately.

"Will you be quiet, I have work tomorrow!" called out her father, always a grouch when deprived of sleep.

"Sorry" she replied quietly.

"What? I didn't hear you!"

"Shut up!" said her mother to the man.

Kaorin sat down in her chair in a humph, arms crossed as she pouted. Stupid parents, not understanding her. It wasn't like there was any reason to be annoyed with her making noise. As she thought this the small clock beeped, confirming it was in fact Saturday. Slowly the look of annoyance disappeared. Well perhaps there was a slight reason to be annoyed with her. But she was a girl with problems!

_Problems she didn't bother talking to her parents about_. That was a good point too.

"Ok Kaorin, you tell Sakaki your feelings, then talk to Dad and Mum" she said to herself. She hoped the fear of possibly talking to her parents would make talking to the quiet girl nothing much to worry about.

She pulled out a piece of paper and scrawled on it. _1- Confess to Sakaki. 2-Tell friends. 3- Tell parents. _She paused. Would it be better to tell her parents first, or her friends. She could just imagine it.

"_So, you feel comfortable talking to your friends but not to us?" said her mother. _

_**Or**_

"_Oh I see, you can tell your parents, but you don't tell us Kaorin?" said Tomo._

"_Why didn't you ever tell me?" demanded Chihiro. _

She came to a sudden stop. Chihiro. That girl had borne the brunt of her frustrations over the last few years. She'd always stood by her even when Kaorin had yelled or treated her horribly. And somehow the girl had never noticed her feelings- or maybe she'd never want to say anything.

She groaned. That was all she needed- she had now made it even harder for herself. It had now gone from merely confessing her feelings to one girl, to explaining her lifestyle to friends and family, confessing well kept feelings. She sighed and looked up towards the ceiling. She was never one to make it easy for herself. Well at least it would make the next few days a bit more interesting. At least, she hoped it would be over in the next few days.

She guess she…WAIT! A spark of inspiration suddenly overcame the girl and she picked up a pen. She reached around her desk drawer, ignoring the loud sound made, and pulled out a piece of paper. She placed the paper on the desk. A letter, that would make it much easier for her. She wouldn't have to face Sakaki, she could merely hand it to Sakaki and wait for an answer. But what to write? She'd have to plan it well, write something good.

She leant over her desk and carefully began writing- she'd want the letter to look good- especially if it eventually became a memento of how the two got together. She smiled. Now that was positive thinking! She sat writing, before finally moving back. The small alarm clock now read 00:15. She looked back at what she had written.

_To Sakaki_

_I love you_

_-Kaori_

She paused for a moment. That was terrible. Ten minutes to write that! She groaned and screwed up the piece of paper. What type of message was that to send?! She turned and threw it into the bin. A fresh piece of paper rested on the desk.

_Sakaki._

_How can I describe what you mean to me? You are the very essence of me, and I wish to be with you forever. You mean everything to me, the very sunshine on which I…_

Kaorin merely placed the pencil back on her desk and tore up the letter. That one was even worse then before. She didn't know why this had to be so difficult. Slowly she stood up and slumped into bed. Exhausted she soon fell asleep.

"_Sakaki-san, please call me Kaori."_

---

With an extreme case of morning hair Kaorin slowly woke up. She almost shrieked when she suddenly spotted her mother standing over her. She sat up, shielding her eyes as the curtains were opened. Her mother slowly walked back to her.

"What is it?" she asked groggily.

"One of your friends rung us a few minutes ago. They want you to ring back; I think they're inviting you somewhere."

Kaorin shot out of bed- Sakaki and the others! Her mother stood as she rushed around, picking up a clean shirt and pair of trousers.

"Aren't these the people that you're going with on this summer trip?"

Kaorin nodded furiously. "Can you leave for a minute, I need to get dressed" she said frantically.

Half an hour later she slowly approached Chiyo-Chan's house. She looked up at the large building in awe. That was an impressive house. Chiyo and Osaka stood outside, waiting for her. She slowly approached them, Chiyo bowing politely.

"Where are the others? Tomo, Yomi?" she asked. "Sakaki?" she asked desperately.

"Tomo and Yomi are stuck on the train. Kagura cannot make it. We're meeting Sakaki in the shopping centre."

Kaorin breathed a deep sigh of relief. She didn't mind spending time with Chiyo and Osaka- but knowing they'd meet Sakaki just made it better. She walked behind the smaller girl as they passed through the electronic gates. Chiyo-Chan was so nice, never boasted about her wealth. So smart…

It was a desperate shot, but the thought suddenly crossed her mind. She could talk to Chiyo, ask for her help. It might be stupid, but she at least knew if she made the small girl promise, Chiyo wouldn't tell the others.

"Chiyo-Chan?" she said as they walked into the house.

"Yes Kaorin?" asked Chiyo, happy to be around friends again.

"I have something to tell you" she said, as Osaka skipped towards the kitchen to pick up her drink.


	4. Chapter 4

"What is it Kaorin?" asked the small girl as she invited Kaori to sit down. Kaorin paused, unsure how to approach the subject, how to start. "Kaorin?" asked Chiyo, now sounding slightly concerned.

Kaorin slowly moved forward to the younger girl. This was definitely a new low. Turning to an eleven year old for help with her love life. What would she have to do next- what could she do next; surely this would be classed as a 'last resort' wouldn't it?

"I have something I want to tell you. Something personal. I want you to keep it a secret, I can trust you to do that can't I?" she asked, ending almost desperately.

"Of course you can Kaorin" replied Chiyo.

"Do you know about love?"

A faint smile passed across Chiyo's face. "Yes I do. Kind of. I've read about it and seen movies. Why?"

"Well, erm I've kind of fallen in love with someone. I've been feeling like this for a long time, and now I finally understand and accept it."

Chiyo smiled broadly. One of her friends was in love! She'd never experienced anything like that at her old school before she'd moved up a few grades. She moved forwards. "So who is it Kaorin? Ryo? Shogo?"

"Not quite" replied Kaorin. "It's a bit complicated." Her voice fell quieter. "You promise to keep it a secret for now?"

"Of course!"

Kaorin pushed herself slight closer to Chiyo and spoke in a hushed tone, listening as Osaka apparently tried to clean up the drink she had spilled. "Sakaki-san. I like Sakaki-san Chiyo."

Chiyo paused momentarily. "What?"

"I-I, well you." She stopped. "Chiyo, I love Sakaki-san!" It felt so good to finally say it out loud, actually tell someone of her true feelings.

Chiyo remained still, silent. Kaorin stood in silent horror, staring at the girl. The girl hadn't responded yet. What was she thinking, did she like it, hate it? Perhaps the girl didn't know what it meant; she was only a child after all. Maybe she was trying to think of something to say so as not to be offensive, or she might find it horrible. Kaorin hung her head down slightly. This was probably just a mistake.

Finally Chiyo looked up. "T-that sounds wonderful!" she exclaimed. She shocked the older girl by suddenly reaching across and hugging her. "It's so sweet! So how did Sakaki respond Kaorin?" she asked.

"Well, you see, I haven't actually told her yet."

"Oh."

"So I suppose you're wondering why I told you?" she asked.

"Maybe" said Chiyo slightly suspiciously.

"Well it's kind of funny, but I decided I could really use someone's help, and you're the smartest person I know and I knew you could help, so I'm asking if you'll help" rambled Kaorin nervously.

"Sure" said Chiyo.

"What?" Kaorin hadn't been expecting such a sudden, positive answer.

"I'll help you. I've read so many books that had romance; it'd be nice to help someone find their true love."

_True love. _Kaorin blushed slightly. Chiyo had been the first person other then Kaorin herself to comment on it like that.

"Did I miss something?" asked Osaka stepping back into the room.

"Oh no not really, we were just talking about the trip to my summer house, and how fun it'll be."

"Yeah" said Osaka sitting down. She turned to Chiyo. "I have a question to ask you."

"What?" asked Chiyo concerned. She'd already had a friend declare their secret love for another friend, what else could she find out today?

"I was wondering if I could use you in a story."

"Huh?"

"Oh, well…" said Osaka blushing. "I've decided to try and write a story, and I really wanted to have you in it…if you want."

"I don't mind" said Chiyo. A friend confessed to _only her_, and another wanted to have her in a story. This was a good day. The phone began to ring.

"It's Sakaki."

---

Kaorin stood with Chiyo as the stepped into the large mall, automatic doors slamming shut behind them and scaring the younger girl. The two turned and faced each other.

"Let's find Sakaki and follow her for a bit, just to know a bit more about her" suggested Kaorin, "Before meeting her."

"Isn't that called stalking?" asked Chiyo.

"I don't know" said Kaorin brushing off the question. "Look there she is!" called out Kaorin, ducking down behind a bench, Chiyo remaining standing, her head barely above the level of the bench. Chiyo glanced down at Kaorin who was close to the floor.

"You'll never talk to her if you're like that."

"I guess that's true. Let's follow her."

"You know, I'm not too comfortable with that."

"So what if you're not comfortable, lets do it" snarled Kaorin.

"Ok then" said Chiyo backing away from the older girl scared. Kaorin desperately apologized to her.

Slowly they began to walk after Sakaki, always attempting to stay behind large crowds. A few times Sakaki turned and came close to seeing the two- at one time she was certain she'd seen Chiyo's pigtails moving through the crowd. Kaorin watched as Sakaki briefly visited a clothes store, picked up a few snacks, and stood lingering outside a pet store for over five minutes. Finally she turned away and continued walking, moving out of the way of the other people. Kaorin growled as a woman gave Sakaki a foul look even though the tall girl moved and she hadn't moved aside at all.

"Please just let it go please Miss Kaorin!" said Chiyo, gripping her arm. Kaorin nodded and stopped trying to break free of Chiyo's grip.

They stood and looked on as Sakaki stepped into a large bookstore. They paused, and then decided to walk into the room, and tried to remain hidden behind the larger displays and plinths. Kaorin peeked around the corner, spotting Sakaki in the pet care section.

"Oh yeah, she wants to look after Mayaa."

She turned back to Chiyo. "She's just browsing at the moment." She turned back and looked out again. Sakaki was walking right towards them, no chance to get out of there. "Alert, alert she's coming!" said Kaorin in a hushed voice.

As Sakaki turned the corner both girls reached out for books. Sakaki spotted them.

"Hi."

"Oh hello Sakaki-san."

"I'm still meeting with you?"

"Yes, of course" said Kaorin, "I was just reading up on…_Torture methods of the 17__th__ century_."

"Yeah Sakaki, we're looking forward to you turning up. I just wanted to read about _A history of h-h-hentai!_" Chiyo shrieked and slammed the book shut, placing it back on the shelf.

"Well never mind, what are you doing here?" asked Kaorin desperately, trying to move away from their pathetic attempts at excuses.

"Oh, I was just…" she held up a book entitled _Cat care for beginners. _

As Chiyo looked through a collection of paperbacks on special offer, Kaorin walked with Sakaki up towards the counter.

"So how is Mayaa?"

"Still good, staying at Osaka's at the moment. She seemed to really want to look after Mayaa."

"Sure you can trust her?" joked Kaorin.

"I suppose so" replied Sakaki, smiling. Kaorin felt her heart melt. A rare smile from Sakaki, all for her! As Sakaki handed money across to the cashier, Kaorin swooned behind her, and slowly followed her as she walked away.

The two rejoined Chiyo and stepped back out into the crowded mall. Chiyo turned and looked up at the two behind her.

"We should probably get back, we left Osaka on her own in my house" said Chiyo. She suddenly noticed how both of the older girls began walking at a faster rate. They stepped outside, the sun particularly hot this day. They spotted Yomi and Tomo outside, Tomo busy flicking Yomi across the back of the head with a rubber band. Just before she turned to hit Tomo, Chiyo rushed over to the two.

"Hi! Please don't fight."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey Chiyo could I use your computer?" asked Osaka as the others arrived.

"Sure" said Chiyo, pointing her towards the modern computer.

"Wow" said much of the group in unison. Kaorin had never seen such an impressive looking machine. Chiyo powered it up and stood back as a low hum filled the room.

"It's so quiet" commented Yomi.

"Oh it's nothing special" said Chiyo.

"Actually I know plenty of nerds who wouldn't mind making sweet love to that thing" said Tomo.

"That's nothing to boast about" replied Yomi.

Osaka slowly sat down in front of the screen, worried about touching the expensive computer- she wouldn't have enough money to pay for it within ten years. She turned in her chair and thanked Chiyo, before returning to the keyboard. The rest of the group stood, waiting to hear what she was planning on doing. Osaka said nothing. They stood in an awkward silence as Osaka merely faced the screen, before slowly leaving the room. Yomi quickly peeked back in to make sure nothing had exploded yet.

When the others had disappeared Osaka got to work. Up popped a new window, _fanfiction _on wikipedia. Another new page, this time _The ultimate guide to fanfiction_. She smiled as she looked at the screen. Finally a chance to write to an audience.

"Well here we go."

She sat, merely staring at the screen, desperately attempting to absorb the words on the screen. Her brain slowly began to ache. Writing was hard. Those people who continually wrote stories on these sites must really have nothing better to do. She'd even seen someone write almost two thousand words a chapter for an inane crossover story and talk about having archived over one hundred thousand words. She was in over her head here.

She knew the series she wanted to write about- a high school television series. Suddenly a spark of inspiration struck- she could base her and Chiyo's arrival in the class in that world. Slowly (very slowly) she began typing away. She yelled out as Sakaki suddenly entered the room, and closed down all of the internet sites.

"What are you doing?" asked Sakaki.

_Time to lie_. "I was, hmm, searching for porn" stated Osaka, using the first word that came to mind. Wait, something seemed wrong with what she'd said. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on…"I mean information about University that's right. I remember now, not porn, University information."

"Ok" said Sakaki, just as eager to move away from the subject as Osaka. "I was just wondering how Mayaa was getting on?"

"She's fine. I brought her here." Osaka could have sworn the positive vibe beaming from Sakaki doubled with those words. "I think she's outside."

"Oh ok. Well I've got to go do something" said Sakaki creeping to the door.

"Me too" said Osaka blocking the screen portraying her document with an arm. Sakaki pulled open the door and sprinted for the garden as Osaka desperately saved the start of the story to a USB stick.

---

A short time later Osaka rejoined the others, the computer still in perfect working order, sitting down between Chiyo and Kaorin. As Yomi and Tomo stood up to retrieve the meal they'd been cooking, an awkward silence fell over the four remaining girls. Kaorin and Chiyo occasionally allowed glances at one another as Sakaki sat still in front of them, Kaorin sometimes allowing herself to look at Sakaki. Osaka and Sakaki were silent, her blasé claims about porn still hanging around.

"We're back!" called out Tomo, Yomi yelling out at the girl, still hidden in the kitchen.

"Smell delicious, what is it?" asked Chiyo.

"Curry!"

"Waah" said Osaka looking at the food. "It smells nice but I can't have spicy foods."

"Don't worry, Madras sauce isn't spicy or hot" lied Tomo. Chiyo, Kaorin and Sakaki remained unaware of the lie, having never tried the food before, while Tomo just about subdued Yomi.

"Oh ok then" said Osaka, happily reaching out a scooping a handful onto a plate. She poked it with a small fork, had one mouthful and suddenly her eyes widened. Going rigid she fell to the floor and then curled up into a ball shuddering.

"I think you killed Osaka Tomo" stated Yomi calmly.

"I think I'm dying" gasped Osaka weakly. Tomo brushed aside the comments and handed Chiyo a plate of the food.

"Well as long as it doesn't have much chilli" said Chiyo raising a portion up to her mouth as Tomo looked on eagerly. The small girl choked, coughed and then joined Osaka on the floor. "Water…I need water."

Sakaki handed the small girl one of the glasses of water and watched in concern as she just about stopped coughing long enough to drink. By now Osaka sat perfectly still on the floor, prone. Tomo poked her with her foot and heard a faint groan.

"She's fine."

"Don't you want some Tomo?" asked Yomi after handing the others some of the food.

Tomo held up her hands. "No thanks, that stuffs too hot for me." She ignored the glare from Yomi- she knew Tomo must have chosen this food just for the reaction of Osaka and Chiyo. Still grinning Tomo sat down and began to eat a rice ball…until…until…

Sakaki was eating the curry! A faint shimmering of the eyes suggesting the heat was getting to her, but she was still eating it all the same. Kaorin looked at the tall girl adoringly- Miss Sakaki was so cool! She turned as Tomo growled and held out a plate. Yomi looked at her in surprise.

"I'll have some please."

"But you just said…"

"I'll have some please."

Yomi slowly began to pour the curry onto Tomo's plate, who's hands were shaking as Sakaki continued to eat the food. She'd already lost valuable ground.

"More. More. More!"

---

Tomo lay practically unconscious on the floor, breathing shallowly while Osaka had finally just about been able to rejoin the others.

"I tink I burned by ton" she said.

"It's getting a bit late" said Kaorin looking out at the dark night sky.

"I officially declare this a sleepover!" said Tomo shooting back up, before falling to the ground again.

Kaorin again felt delighted as the others agreed, a chance to spend the night with her friends, and more importantly Miss Sakaki!

"I'm not sure" said Sakaki, Kaorin feeling her heart drop, "It wouldn't be fair on my parents."

"Ring them" suggested Kaorin, "Ask them!" she said more fanatically, just about holding in the urge to shake Sakaki and beg her to talk to her parents.

"Well I guess I could" replied Sakaki. "May I use your phone Chiyo?"

"Of course." As Sakaki disappeared the small girl gave Kaorin a look. _Don't do anything stupid. _

Sakaki soon returned, informing the others she was able to stay. Kaorin balled her hands into fists in celebration. Excellent!

"Ah, Chiyo we don't have anything to sleep in" suggested Yomi. No one noticed the weary yet furious look from Kaorin. Everything always had to be difficult.

"I have some blankets we could use" said Chiyo springing back up and disappearing into a large closet. She soon reappeared engulfed in blankets, a small pair of legs supporting a large pile. She placed them on the floor, claiming a small pink blanket for herself. In a frantic flash the others reached out, leaving Sakaki and Kaorin gripping the final one. Shocked, Kaorin suddenly let go.

Chiyo looked on uneasily. One short. She hoped Kaorin didn't see that as more then a coincidence. Kaorin didn't even think about it.

"You can have it if you want" said Sakaki, handing it across to Kaorin. "I wasn't even planning on being here, so it'd be fairer."

Kaorin looked across at the disappointed girl. Sakaki might sleep rough, or possibly go home all because of her. She held up the blanket, and with her face hidden grinned wildly. This happened to be a particularly large one.

"We could share Sakaki-san" suggested Kaorin, Chiyo spluttering in surprise. "Look at how big it is."

"I guess so" said Sakaki.

"We're all girls here aren't we?" said Kaorin, "It doesn't matter does it?"

"No, probably not."

It wouldn't have surprised Kaorin if her eyes suddenly glazed over as she fell backwards in delight. Instead she merely sat gripping the soft blanket as Chiyo looked across at her suspiciously.

"You better be careful, you can never trust Sakaki in those types of situations" joked Tomo, Sakaki looking confused and slightly awkward.

After much frustration, some swearing from Tomo, and occasional feet/elbows to the face the blankets rested across the floor, finally sorted out. They slowly climbed under their blankets, Kaorin, in her underwear quickly ducking under the blanket when Sakaki had her back turned. In the twilight, most of the lights having been turned off, she hid her blushes as she watched Sakaki climb under the blanket, brushing against her.

"You ok?" asked Sakaki.

"Oh I'm FINE" said Kaorin her voice getting higher as Sakaki rested her head on the pillow.

"You wanna hear a scary story?" asked Tomo.

"No" said Kaorin, Chiyo and a tired Yomi in unison. Sakaki shook her head slightly. Tomo groaned.

Slowly the group began to fall asleep, leaving Kaorin gripping her blanket tightly and looking up towards the ceiling as Sakaki slept quietly beside her.

_Excellent._


	6. Chapter 6

_Sunday Evening_

Osaka had returned home a few hours earlier. She turned on her computer, and after a much longer wait then on Chiyo's computer entered the website. She looked at her story and gasped in surprise when she noticed she'd received two reviews. She smiled faintly as she clicked on the review button.

_Lei119- Kewl, please update soon :)_

The faint smile still remained. Her first ever review. She groaned as she saw the second review- longer then the other one. That meant a long reading spell.

_BrightTrue- Well this seems interesting. You state this is your first story- unfortunately you have fallen into one of the main traps. Introducing balanced original characters is ok- but this Chiyo character is obviously a mary sue. _

"Huh?" said Osaka aloud.

_I'm mean come on- a ten year old girl who happens to be rich, smarter then everyone, adorably cute and gets on well with everyone- this reeks of mary-sueness. _

"But-but I know Chiyo" stated Osaka to the computer screen. "She's real. You don't know her" she continued, arguing with the computer. She continued reading the review.

_However this Osaka character seemed interesting and kind of funny. It could grow interesting with some work. _

Osaka nodded sleepily in agreement. She slowly looked down at her keyboard. She'd have to write another chapter- and another and so on.

"Oh."

---

Monday morning

Kaorin walked towards the school, much more renewed and energetic then she'd been for quite a while. She surprised Chihiro by practically skipping through the gates and into the school grounds. Chihiro hurried to catch up with the girl.

"Hey Kaorin!" called out Chihiro.

"Chihiro!" replied Kaorin happily. "How are you today?" she called out.

"Oh me? Oh I'm fine thanks" said Chihiro. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?" asked Kaorin, fully knowing what her friend meant.

"You seem much more…chirpy then normal" said Chihiro, unsure quite which word to use without offending her friend. Kaorin smiled.

"I'm just happy today" said Kaorin, waving out to numerous people as she walked up towards the entrance. Chihiro said a quick goodbye and ran off, someone calling out for her.

Kaorin watched the girl disappear, before suddenly spotting Sakaki- being the tallest girl out here, she wasn't exactly hard to miss. She rushed over to the group of girls. She'd spent time with them, been to her first sleepover, was even invited on their summer trip. Slowly she felt she was becoming accepted into their group. She couldn't let her fear of rejection cause her to remain on the outskirts anymore.

"Hi" she said, standing beside Chiyo, so she wouldn't be hidden by the taller Sakaki or Kagura, who hadn't made it to the last trip.

"Hello Kaorin" said Chiyo craning her head back and looking up at Kaorin. Kaorin waved slightly.

"Hi Kaorin, heard you stayed over at Chiyo's" said Kagura. "Shared with Sakaki huh? I hear she can be a beast in bed" she said, laughing as Sakaki blushed. Kaorin momentarily became deeply interested in her shoelace, hiding her face. Part of her suddenly called out a message- _I really hope so! _

"Hey, I made that joke already" said Tomo, "Kind of."

"Anyway I bet you can't beat the horror I had last night" said Kagura speaking in a hushed tone.

"H-horror?" asked a nervous sounding Chiyo.

"That's right" said Kagura nodding. Tomo slowly moved forwards, easing an annoyed Yomi out of the way so she could hear more clearly. Yomi reached back and jabbed Tomo in the ribs, the wildcat yelling out. She glared at Yomi who ignored her.

"So what happened?" asked Yomi.

Kagura paused, and gripped her hands tightly. Slowly she began to speak. The group crowded around her, so no one else could hear.

"Last night I fell asleep, and just started dreaming as normal" said Kagura, Tomo nodding as she began her story, despite having said just over ten words. "And…well I had a nightmare."

"A nightmare?" asked Sakaki.

Tomo laughed. "Is that all?"

"Well…"

"Just a simple nightmare?" continued Tomo. "That's nothing at all" she boasted, "I've had much worse."

"It was about Kimura" said Kagura. Tomo shut up immediately. "I had a nightmare about Kimura."

"What happened?" asked Yomi.

Kagura covered Chiyo's ears. "I-I had a sex dream about Kimura." Sakaki and Yomi froze solid, Kaorin let out a faint yelp and Osaka wobbled slightly. Tomo's jaw merely dropped. She couldn't even contemplate making fun of something like that…yet. Kaorin felt a tight grip around her heart. That poor girl. How could something so horrible happen to someone so young?

"Kagura, I'm so sorry" said Yomi. Kagura sighed and slowly moved her hands away from Chiyo's ears. She turned to the school almost regretfully.

"I guess I'll just have to try and carry on" she said. "I don't know if I'll be able to face him today. Kimura has us first lesson doesn't he?"

Chiyo nodded, completely unaware of what was going on. "And he didn't give out any homework so you don't have to worry Tomo."

"Hey I know that…now" said Tomo.

"I think we should go inside now" said Sakaki.

"Good idea!" said Kaorin.

Slowly they entered the building.

"Let's hope the lesson isn't too boring, we don't want you falling asleep in Kimura's class and dreaming about him" said Tomo. She sprinted away as Kagura chased after the girl yelling.

"What happened to Miss Kaorin?" asked Chiyo, walking alongside the girl, Sakaki and Yomi chasing after Kagura, Osaka trying to follow.

"Just bad dreams" replied Kaorin.

"Will you be telling Miss Sakaki how you feel today?" asked Chiyo. "It is making you very stressed; I can see you often thinking about it. Perhaps it would be a good idea to try and get it out of the way so you don't have to worry anymore?" suggested the girl.

"Maybe…I don't know, I need to get ready" replied Kaorin quietly as an exhausted looking Osaka turned back to look at them. "It's just…it's not just something you can walk up to a person and say."

"You could try a letter" chirped Chiyo.

"I tried that. I didn't really get very far."

"Well you have me now Kaorin!" said Chiyo.

"Huh?"

"You asked me to help you didn't you? This is something I can do!"

Kaorin nodded. "Let's do it Chiyo-Chan. Together!"

"Together!"

They stepped into the building, a deep sense of fear gripping Kaorin. Tell Sakaki her true feelings at last? By the time she left those doors today it could all be over. Or it could just be beginning…

---

Kagura had found herself in luck upon entering the classroom for the first lesson of the day. Kimura wasn't around, and so she was able to reach her desk without flashbacks returning to haunt her- even with Tomo constantly reminding her on their way along the hallway.

She paused and tensed up as the door opened. A man stepped into the room, followed by one of the administration staff. No Kimura to be seen. That was a lucky escape.

"Listen here, Mr Kimura isn't in today" said the man, in his constantly angry sounding tone. "In fact, he isn't likely to be in for the rest of this week or for possibly longer."

A silence fell over the class, until a few of the girls cheered.

"Shut up. So anyway, we've managed to secure a substitute teacher to teach the subject. Fortunately for him, he doesn't have very high standards to keep. I hope you treat him with respect, and don't portray a negative image of this school. Anyway, this is Mr Koshi" said the man, before disappearing back into corridor.

"Well then" said Koshi. "Well, this is a nice sight, a class of beautiful girls and handsome young men with their lives ahead of them. Yes as you heard from that brusque introduction I am Mr Koshi. Even though I will only be here a short while, I hope to aid all of you in your class work."

Kagura watched the man talking. Now that was a guy to have dreams about! Beside her Tomo seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Well I've made my introduction, so how about the rest of you? Who are you, you adorable little student?" asked the man kindly.

"I'm Chiyo. I've been moved up several grades into this class."

"Ah the famous Chiyo-Chan! You're a bit of a legend around these parts" said the man, "Smart, friendly and terrible at tongue twisters!" he said grinning.

"Thank you!"

---

Break had arrived, the group enjoying their free time.

"Wow, that new teacher is great" said Kaorin, eager not to be around Kimura.

"He certainly has better teaching methods" said Yomi, "As in teaching, not just gawking at us."

"Yeah and he has a pretty cute butt too" added Tomo, standing as her face slowly turned red.

"Just saying is all."


	7. Chapter 7

"Well done girls" said Kurosawa sensei, "You all did well today. Congratulations Chiyo, you're getting on well with swimming now. Osaka…carry on the good work."

Osaka nodded. "Right Kurosawa sensei" she said as the girls walked towards the changing rooms.

Kaorin walked alongside Chihiro, Sakaki a short distance in front of her, trying to handle another one of those odd conversations between Tomo and Osaka, this one apparently involving vegetables.

"You swam really well today" said Chihiro, "It was really good."

"Thanks" replied Kaorin. "You did well too!"

"Do you like me Kaorin?" asked Chihiro.

"Huh?" asked Kaorin caught off guard. She was slightly confused- and hoped this conversation wasn't going where she thought it could go. "What do you mean?"

"Do you still like me Kaorin?"

"Of course I like you, why wouldn't I?"

"Well I just thought that maybe I was boring on my own, and you might be happier with Tomo and the others."

"No! No I like you Chihiro. I like the others too! You're still my first ever best friend remember Chihiro. Remember how long we've been together?"

"Yeah" said Chihiro smiling, remembering the past years.

"You should join me and the others too. You sometimes do, and that way you wouldn't have to feel left out either. I was worried about joining them, but they're really kind!"

"I guess I could do."

The two continued walking. Kaorin looked across at her friend. This would probably be a good time. She surprised her friend by gripping her in a tight hug.

"Kaorin?"

"Spur of the moment thing."

"Oh, ok."

"People are looking at us aren't they?" asked Kaorin.

"Yes." Slowly Kaorin let go of the girl and continued walking. Kimura had still yet to appear- he hadn't even attempted to spy on the swimming lessons. Even when he'd been suffering from the flu, he'd taken the time to drop by and watched their gym lesson in the winter. The man had vanished. She wasn't exactly sad at that.

---

Kaorin slowly traipsed past the closed classroom doors, her lunch having started a few minutes ago. She paused as a voice called out to her. She was sure she was forgetting something, an activity she was planning on doing.

"Kaorin! Kaorin please wait for a minute" called out Chiyo, trying to run down the corridor. "We have to talk remember."

That was right. Chiyo had said she was going to help her out today. She stopped and waited as Chiyo suddenly skidded past her. Finally stopping, she walked back to Kaorin, panting slightly. She stood, desperately trying to catch her breath as a small group of boys walked past.

"I said I'd help you write the letter remember Kaorin?" said Chiyo, "I want to help."

"Thanks Chiyo-Chan" replied Kaorin. "It's really kind of you to understand and keep it a secret for me, let alone help me."

"It isn't a problem Kaorin" replied Chiyo. "It's nice to try and help a friend…I mean help a friend. Then this way I can make you owe me many favours!" She paused. "Miss Kaorin, that was a joke you know" said Chiyo worriedly, thinking the older girl may believe she was only doing this for herself.

"I know that Chiyo-Chan" replied Kaorin.

"I'm just not up to the level of joking that Miss Tomo is at" said Chiyo.

"You're not as annoying either Chiyo-Chan" joked Kaorin, "And much cuter" she said, grinning. Chiyo smiled in reply.

"Thank you Kaorin."

"No problem."

"We should go to the library. It'd be easier to work there, and there would be fewer people Miss Kaorin."

"Oh, ok." She didn't realize she'd have to do it during lunch. She guessed she'd have to make some sacrifices to realize her dream. And compared to what some people would have to go through, this was nothing. Sakaki san. Yes, Kaorin definitely thought that was something worth missing lunch for. Soon she'd be with the girl. Soon. Her new motto, used to hide the truth that she was terrified.

Chiyo led the way to the library, Kaorin now beginning to feel nervous. It couldn't take very long to write a letter could it? Especially with Chiyo helping, it should be finished before the end of lunch, and then she'd give it to Sakaki. Then the moment would finally come. She hoped.

---

"This is difficult" said Kaorin, slumped on the desk beside Chiyo. The two were able to talk in peace. The library was closed, but the Librarian had allowed Chiyo in (Mainly owing to the fact she was so adorable). "Who knew it'd be so hard?"

"Miss Kaorin, I'm the one doing all the writing, and thinking" replied Chiyo.

"Yes, but I'm providing the spirit" said Kaorin moping. "Just getting this out of the way would ease my mind."

"You can't hurry love Kaorin, no you'll just have to wait. Love doesn't come easy but hopefully this letter will help."

"I hope so."

"You really want to be with Sakaki don't you?"

"She's my first, my last, my everything" replied Kaorin. She looked up at the clock the minute hand slowly moving along. "Oh time goes by, so slowly."

"And time can do so much" said Chiyo holding up her hand. "It hurts; we've tried so many different letters."

"Don't worry Chiyo, I'm sure it'll be over soon" replied Kaorin.

"I hope so. We have to write an essay in our next lesson" said the girl, gingerly holding her pen.

The two sat, alternating between Kaorin and Chiyo scribbling on the paper. Chiyo was the last to write, and finally handed it to Kaorin.

"What do you think?"

_Dear Sakaki_

_I forget exactly what day it was when we met at this school. It is something I regret, as it was the day I met someone I considered truly special. I have long had feelings for you, but I was confused and scared never able to confess to you until now. As I write this I think of you and the kindness with which you treat everyone. The way you make me feel. I always thought it was wrong, my heart feeling it to be true, but my head saying no. But I cannot deny my feelings anymore. I love you Sakaki. Perhaps it may be hard for you to accept, but I will be there waiting for you. One day I hope you will be there for me too. _

Kaorin placed the small piece of paper down on the table and turned to Chiyo.

"Well, what do you think Chiyo-Chan?" asked Kaorin. She waited eager to hear what her smart friend had to say. She was happy with it- far better then merely _Hello,_ _I love you,_ _the end_.

"Well it's not the best thing I've ever written, but I still think it's pretty good" said Chiyo smiling. "Especially considering neither of us had any idea of what we are doing."

"Yeah it's great" said Kaorin. "I'll go slip it into Sakaki's locker. At the moment she'll probably be dealing with Tomo."

"Right."

Kaorin nodded, stood up gripped the piece of paper and then sprinted away. Chiyo sat, before a faint feeling of horror past over her, and she climbed down from the chair, picked up her bag and desperately tried to run after the older girl, calling out her name.

Kaorin gently prodded the rest of the note through the thin gap, and slowly backed away smiling. She turned and yelled out as Chiyo ran into her, and then fell to the ground, the bag not breaking her fall. Chiyo held back the tears- more important things at hand!

"Miss Kaorin, Miss Kaorin!" said an exhausted Chiyo.

"What is it Chiyo-Chan?"

"You did remember to put your name on the letter right?"

A blank look crossed Kaorin's face. "Huh?"

"I merely wrote the last sentence and handed it to you. You did write your name on it before you rushed off…right?"

Kaorin buried her head in her hands as Sakaki pulled open her locker. Chiyo watched Kaorin running down the corridor as Sakaki glanced around confused, holding the letter. An anonymous lover… Chiyo didn't know whether it'd be a good idea to talk to Sakaki, and so decided against it, waiting for Kaorin's response.

---

Chiyo sat on one of the benches outside of school, slowly drinking a carton of orange juice. School had ended, and Kaorin hadn't returned after lunch. She'd gone home sick, Chiyo the only one knowing the true reason. She watched worriedly as a dishevelled looking man approached her. The worry didn't disappear when she realized it was Kimura. The man sat down beside her.

"Miss Chiyo."

"Kimura sensei."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Chiyo slowly sucking up the orange juice. Finally Kimura broke and turned to the girl.

"You have to help me!"

"What?"

"M-my wife might leave me and I need help!"

"But why me?" asked Chiyo.

"Oh please, you're smarter then your friends and your teacher. You are the little genius of our school!"

"Er…maybe?"

"I might see you around. Oh and Chiyo- beware that new teacher" said Kimura before walking away.

Chiyo placed the empty carton in the bin. Why would she have to worry about Mr Koshi? Kimura was the slightly dodgy teacher- and she wasn't fully sure why yet. And why did everybody think she could help them?

_Authors Note: Chapter 7, wow I never thought I'd see that when I started this story. Regarding Chiyo, I just thought I'd have a running gag of older people relying upon her. Also the next chapter should be slightly 'different'._


	8. Chapter 8

Osakaloma!

The half open curtains allowed the bright sun to shine down on Kaorin, who woke up groaning, feeling sad for herself. Another failed attempt to tell Sakaki her true feelings. Still, at least this time she'd actually gone through with a plan. She moved her legs out of the bed and rested them on the floor, pulling away the bed cover.

"How do I tell her that I love her?

That for me there is no other?

It seems that everything must be so hard,

A thousand dreams deeply scarred."

_She walked across to the window, and brushed her strewn hair as she looked out at the street below. So many people seeming so carefree, but all having their own dreams and fears and pain. She sighed, thinking back on her missed chance._

"I tried so hard to write that letter,

But in the end made nothing better

All she knows a nameless love,

This constant fear I grow sick of

I truly wish there was some way,

But the fear grows with every day

The love which dare not speak its name

Slowly disappearing down the damn drain."

"Kaorin it's almost time to go honey,

And don't forget to take your money" _called up her mother_.

"I won't forget this time mother,

As I did with my lover,

A failed chance

Just one glance

From my sweet love is all I need

To give me a chance to succeed.

These rhymes are slowly getting rotten,

The storyline has been forgotten."

And so poor Miss Kaorin sat off to class,

Dear reader stay seated on your ass

---

"There she goes all high and mighty,

The teachers think she's God almighty" _said Tomo, watching Sakaki approaching the school_.

"Hey what's this my voice does rhyme,

And all seems to keep in time,

All I will say is the word Duck,

So I can then say the word fuc…"

"Tomo please don't be a fool,

That isn't the thing to say at school" _interrupted Yomi_.

"Yomi please step on the grass,

So I can proceed to kick your…"

"These dark dreams truly haunt me as I try to live my life,

Lessons taught by Kimura always provide me strife,

I turn to friends and receive little but taunts,

Those terrible images my brain still haunts,

And still it provides little but mirth

I guess it just shows what I'm worth" _ranted Kagura walking past the two bickering girls_.

"Hey there Yomi, what is with her?"

"Tomo never misses a chance to stir"

"What ever could you mean?"

"Kagura pictured a terrible scene,

A scene of pure and complete terror

For which nothing could prepare her."

_Chihiro thanked Yomi before walking on towards the school. Kaorin was right, the group was kind. She didn't notice Tomo and Yomi wrestling on the ground. She said hello to Kaorin._

"Hey up Kaorin, how are you today?

Hey wait, you're looking kinda grey."

"Hey there Chihiro, it doesn't matter,

Don't worry I'll soon be better

I just woke up on the wrong side of bed

And now I'm feeling brain dead

I really hope I don't run out of gas

So I can make it through class."

_Her friend walked away, leaving Kaorin by herself. She slowly ambled towards the school, not sure about entering the building. All her attempts had been failures; she'd have to spend another day knowing she couldn't speak to Sakaki, knowing the girl probably thought a boy was interested in her. How would Sakaki feel about that- would the girl be happy that a boy may like her? Would she notice the handwriting- slightly off as two people tried to make their writing look the same._

"Maybe she'll know the writing is the same as mine,

And then our romance can begin to shine,

But now I'm probably just dreaming

But I'll still carry on my scheming

Together with Chiyo I'll begin to plan."

"Hey there Miss Kaorin,

Are you busy daydreaming?"

_Kaorin turned to find Chiyo standing behind her. She crouched down and looked at the girl. Chiyo smiled faintly- how would Kaorin be feeling today, following her failure yesterday. She was slightly worried. Around Tomo, failure often resulted in pain and/or humiliation._

"Oh don't mind me Chiyo I'm fine,

I'm just wondering when it'll be my time.

So many battered and failed dreams

Doomed to disappointment it seems

I should just forget my love,

Allow it to fly away like a dove,

For people like me there is no happy ending

And I am sick and tired of pretending,

My love destined to remain hidden

Because at heart it is forbidden."

"Please Miss Kaorin don't sound so sad,

I promise you it won't end bad,

I will help you to succeed

And find the love that you do need."

_Kaorin nodded weakly._

"Thank you very much Chiyo,

It will be hard though

I have failed so many times,

Perhaps it's time to read the signs."

"Don't give up Miss Kaorin,

Just try and keep up your chin."

---

"I also took pleasure in watching the girls prance,

Hoping one day that I might have a chance

I find them all so very cute

But they all give me the boot

Ah a dream of my darling Kaorin

But to her it provides little but chagrin

And now my life is full of strife

I look set to loose my wife

These truly are desperate times

And I must woe in rhymes

Still at last I get some screen time

These verses are far from sublime."

_Kimura bowed his head as he sat on the bench. Stubble had started to grow, the man too depressed to do anything along those lines._

Meanwhile…

"Only I know the truth about those pigtails

But every plan to stop them always fails

Don't worry Chiyo I'll save you

…if only I knew how to.

This story writing thing is very hard

With me not being held in high regard

By the members who use that site

And leave bad reviews out of spite.

But never mind I still will fight,

Four similar rhymes that is right

Never mind time to keep up my head,

Or else Yukari will want me dead

It's not my fault that I'm so tired

But I'm far away from being wired

Like Tomo a slightly crazy friend

Who'll never stop yelling till the end

And what's this, the longest verse

I wonder if we're under a curse?

It seems so odd I must talk this way

I hope it's over by today

Because this hurts my brain

Talking in rhyme is a drain."

_Osaka rested her head on the table as she tried desperately to stay awake. Within the class Sakaki also sat, thinking about the note, currently sitting in her locker._

"Someone declared their love for me

…I wonder who it could be

I don't know why anyone would care

For everyone I always scare

It's not my fault, I do try

But dreams of friendship often die

And that is why I love my few friends

And hope to be with them till my life ends."

"Come on, sit down now class,

Tomo get on your ass."

Yukari moved back to the chalkboard and began scribbling.

"And don't forget to take this down, I'm not repeating myself." She turned back to the chalkboard. Osaka sat waiting, waiting, waiting… Nothing was coming.

"Miss Yukari!" called out a horrified Osaka.

"What?" asked an irate Yukari.

"You ruined the rhyming!"

"The say what?"

_A/N: I suddenly felt like trying this and well, I did. Apologies if it was terrible, but I enjoyed wracking my brain to try and get all the speech to rhyme._


	9. Chapter 9

"Well class, as I'm sure you are all aware the summer holiday is almost here" said Yukari, "And not too soon. I hope you're all doing something interesting this summer."

"What are you doing Miss Yukari?" asked Chihiro.

The teacher smiled. "I'm going on a trip this summer, I'm going to a lovely little summer house" she said.

"Oh, are you going to Chiyo's summer house again Miss Yukari?" asked one of the students. The teacher paused, gave her student a foul look and turned to the board.

"Anyway, as you are all aware it's the summer soon. Time off!" she exclaimed.

"We know Miss Yukari" said Yomi politely, wondering where the conversation was going.

"Yeah why are you telling us this?" called out Tomo loudly.

"Shut up Tomo" said Yukari. "I'm getting to that. Thanks to the enthusiasm of some of the teachers, and overtime being offered to me, we're providing this year with its own summer ball. The other teachers might be doing something with their years too, but I don't really care about that."

"Wow a summer dance" said Chiyo joyously.

"Yeah whatever, I'm only in it for the overtime" repeated Yukari.

Kaorin cautiously held her arm aloft, grimacing when Yukari finally noticed it.

"What is it Kaorin?"

"Well, I was just wondering when this dance was."

"This Saturday, a full two days before I go on my trip…with you."

"Saturday? But that only gives us a few days to get ready!" exclaimed Kagura.

"Oh well, you snooze you loose" replied Yukari. "You're just lucky I wasn't feeling mean and decided to tell you this on Friday. In fact, really I should have done that" said the teacher, now talking to herself, deep in thought as her class was ignored.

"Er…Miss Yukari?"

"Oh yeah. Anyway the event or whatever is on Saturday like I said. We've hired out a large hall- it even has a garden. Nyamo thought it was quite nice- I thought the garden just added more to the expenses. Anyway Tomo's going to hand out this little flyer we made up."

Tomo took hold of the flyers and sprinted around the room handing out the pieces of paper.

"There's a small cost involved just to help out. It isn't much; we didn't listen to the Principal, that ass. Any questions?"

"Is there alcohol present at this party?" called out Tomo as she sat down in her chair. She waited eagerly for the teachers answer.

"Of course- for us teachers Tomo" said a particularly vivacious Yukari. "We wouldn't want our students getting into trouble. And it makes it easier for us to watch over you."

"Yeah, but who watches over them?" muttered Yomi.

"Did you say something?"

"No of course not" said Yomi. Deny everything. She wanted to make it to the summer with her body intact. That certainty wasn't the way that she wanted to loose weight.

"Good." Yukari stood, staring straight at Chiyo who was straining to keep her hand up. She waited for a while, Chiyo groaning in desperation.

"Oh Chiyo, I didn't see that you had your hand up" lied the teacher. "What is it?"

"Miss Yukari, you mentioned teachers keeping a watch on the event. I was just wondering, who are the teachers that have been chosen?"

"Oh there's four of us" said Yukari. "I'm there of course, they needed a beautiful teachers for the horny boys to look at. Nyamo's coming, and so is Mr Koshi."

"You said there are four…" said Kaorin cautiously.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry, but Mr Kimura offered to help out as well, as a way of getting back to his job. I'm sorry about that."

Just under an hour later the lesson finished, the class slowly filtering out of the room to enjoy their break. Many of the boys seemed uninterested, but some of the girls found themselves chatting eagerly about the upcoming activity- sports fests were a regular occurrence, but this was rarer.

"So, are you going to ask any of the boys out?" Tomo overhead one of the girls say.

She rushed up to her rapidly vanishing friends.

"So any of you asking anyone out?" she asked.

"Huh?" asked Osaka.

"You know boys- like us but with shorter hair and other _bits. _Are you going to ask any of them to the dance?"

"I dunno, would anyone want to go with me?" asked Yomi aloud.

"I don't know about you, but I bet the boys will be piling up to go with me" said Tomo.

"If that's the case, why don't you have a boyfriend?" asked Osaka. "I was just saying" she continued avoiding a Tomo strike attack.

Kaorin turned to Sakaki. "So, are you planning on going with anyone Sakaki?" she asked.

"I don't know" replied the girl quietly. Someone had sent a letter to her. Maybe that person would come to her and ask her. Little did she know the person who had sent the letter was currently straining to hold in the urge to ask Sakaki to the dance.

"It sounds nice" said Chiyo, "But no one will want to go with me" she said tearfully. "I'm too young."

"I'll go with you Chiyo!" said Osaka holding up her hands.

"Huh?" replied the group of girls.

"Who'd want to go with me as well?" replied Osaka. "This way I don't have to worry about being completely outshined when it comes to dancing. Me and Chiyo are at the same basic level."

---

"And so that concludes our lesson for today ladies and gentlemen" said Koshi, placing his book on the desk. "And don't forget the homework for tonight."

"But there's so much" said Kagura.

"Yes I know. But I don't want to set any homework for you over the break, so this is my way of compensating. Cruel to be kind as they say."

"He's much cooler then Kimura" whispered Chihiro to Kaorin who nodded in agreement.

The bell rung and Koshi spoke. "Well, I guess that's the end of class for today. Enjoy the evening, but don't forget to get the homework done." The students stood up to leave. "Oh Tomo, could you stay behind I need to talk to you."

Tomo said a quick goodbye to the others as they left a class. Soon only she and the teacher were left. She walked across to the man.

"You said you wanted to see me?" she asked.

"That's right. I must admit your grades are quite disappointing given your potential."

"I'm sorry Mr Koshi" she said, a formulaic response. This wasn't the first time she'd heard this speech.

"And I think you should try and improve your scores."

"I know, But how?" asked Tomo.

"I think you know Tomo" replied Koshi.

"What, huh? How?" asked Tomo.

"You're a very beautiful girl Tomo, did anyone ever tell you that?"

"What?"

"Why it could be our secret. Just get down on your knees, move that cute skirt out of the way."

"What?!" asked Tomo, backing away. "That's not right!"

"But you're so skilled at using your mouth."

"Mr Koshi..." said Tomo in shock.

"Fine then leave. But I will get what I want. And don't bother complaining- who do you think the school will trust- naughty stupid Tomo or the trustworthy, kind experienced teacher helping out the school."

Kimura walked along the corridor carrying his favourite briefcase, a battered old model given to him by his wife. He paused, a short distance away from the door to his class. He shouldn't have left- it wasn't professional leaving the class, the school having to get in a replacement teacher. He left his class and interrupted his classes education. All to stay at home and live in self pity. He had the holiday to get back with his wife and return to his job. He was speaking to her again. And both agreed his daughter could do without the worst case scenario.

He jumped back in surprise as the door swung open and a girl rushed out. He recognized her as Tomo, but before he could say hello the girl had disappeared along the corridor. He shrugged and stepped into his room where he found a smug looking Koshi sitting in _his _chair. He moved his head slightly as Kimura walked across to him.

"What happened with Tomo?" he asked.

"Oh, stupid girls are just stupid" said Koshi shrugging.

"She isn't stupid you know" replied Kimura. "She just challenged in a work ethic related way."

"Whatever Kimura. You got lucky here, these guys offer a really great pay rate."

"Meh it's ok. I like the teaching here."

"Oh please."

"What I like doing this. It beats getting bored at home" replied Kimura. He stood and glared at Koshi's back as the man left the room.

"Bastard. I'm going to be keeping my eye on you" he muttered, the man having left the room. He slowly sat down in his chair. He'd be back soon enough.

---

Kaorin rested on her bed. The week had past by quite quickly. Tomo had seemed a bit off, but had gotten better, though she was off around Koshi. She kept on saying something about looking forward to having Kimura back next term. She had no idea why anyone would want that.

And now this term was over. Tomorrow was the date of the dance and she'd hadn't got anyone to go with. Chihiro had picked up one of the boys from another class in her year. She hadn't heard back from Sakaki, but she knew that Tomo had yet to find a date either. At least someone would be able to share her annoyance with her. A few of the boys couldn't be bothered, and more boys weren't going when compared to girls- so the numbers were skewered- not enough boys for the girls.

At least tomorrow should be interesting.


	10. Chapter 10

Kaorin dressed in a rarely used pale dress approached the hall. The flyer said that this was the place, but it wasn't until she saw Chiyo and Osaka lingering around that she knew she was here. After all even with Osaka Chiyo wouldn't get lost. She saw Yomi suddenly pass by, looking annoyed as a boy kept talking.

"What, are you on your own?"

Kaorin just about held in the shriek as she turned to find Sakaki. She just about held her jaw up as she saw the tall girl in a flowing red dress, revealing her shapely figure and legs- tastefully of course.

"M-miss Sakaki! Oh, yeah I didn't find anyone."

"Oh, me neither" replied Sakaki quietly. "I couldn't find anyone."

"I don't know why Sakaki, I'm sure many boys would want to go with you" said Kaorin.

Sakaki shrugged. "Maybe."

"Of course they would. You look great, where did you find that dress."

Sakaki smiled. "Really? You think I look good in this?" she asked. "I thought it was nice, but I didn't know if…"

"You do look good" said Kaorin stopping Sakaki's defensive tactic. At last, a chance to praise Sakaki- but the girl still seemed clueless about her feelings. "You look better then me."

"Don't down yourself Kaorin."

"Fine then Miss Sakaki, sure yeah."

"I hear Tomo didn't find a date either."

"Oh." Take this chance, take this chance, take this chance! Kaorin knew she would never forgive herself if she let this slip. "Why don't we go together?"

"What?"

"Chiyo and Osaka are going. We should go too- we can hang out together. And don't forget we've danced together before!" Kaorin felt sick at using one of her moments of bliss for a joke- but it was worth it when Sakaki smiled.

"Why not? Lets call it a date" said Sakaki.

"Was that a joke?" asked Kaorin grinning. Sakaki nodded and smiled faintly.

Kaorin hooked her arm around Sakaki's arm and the two marched towards the front entrance. Chiyo watched the two walk past and stuck up a thumb. Kaorin grinned and pointed with her free hand. Sakaki! She was with Sakaki! Oh sweet merciful dance, she was with Sakaki. Tomo stood waiting by the door, and perked up when they approached.

"Ooh, look at the happy couple" she joked. Sakaki and Kaorin greeted her and then stepped inside, running into Kimura. He saw the two together, arms locked together. Kaorin and Sakaki together- now that was a beautiful couple- literally. His cute little Kaorin with the sexy (in his opinion) Sakaki was much better then the boy/girl couples.

"Hello there. Have fun at the dance girls, just don't have too much fun" he said winking. Sakaki blushed.

"Of course not" lied Kaorin. Well maybe not tonight, but she certainly hoped that later on they would have fun. The athletic Sakaki with her long legs and cute face and eyes and that body…she just about snapped out of the daydream before the others noticed she was acting weird.

"Well, shall we go in…_date_?" asked Kaorin. She simply had to add the last word- even if it was unofficial, it still counted for her. Of course if she was to actually go out with Sakaki she wouldn't count this as their first date- since Sakaki had no idea of her intentions. Or at least as far as Kaorin knew. This could maybe count as the one quarter date. She'd have to talk with Sakaki about it…hopefully.

"Very well then Miss Kaorin" said Sakaki, slightly more relaxed then usual. It may have been because they were around few people, but Kaorin liked to believe it was because Sakaki was with her. That would be nice…no more then that it would be wonderful, Miss Sakaki relaxed around her.

They continued walking along the long corridor decorated with bold purple and gold. A crudely designed sign read welcome to the Summer Ball. Currently some very catchy (don't Kaorin wouldn't admit it) J-pop was ringing out from the large hall. Some people found themselves attempting to dance, many content to merely stand and chat. Yukari was already holding a glass of sake in a slightly trembling hand.

"Hello there Kaori, Sakaki" said the teacher with slightly slurred speech. "You seem a bit of an odd couple." She crept up to the two and whispered. "You do know you were supposed to bring a date, as in a boy. Well unless you are inclined to another form of lifestyle."

"Neither of us had a date, so we decided to be dance partners" explained Kaorin.

"Well you can't be any worse then Chiyo and Osaka" said Yukari, pointing back over her shoulder as Chiyo desperately tried to lead, and Osaka desperately tried to stay on her feet. They just about stumbled out of the way of another couple. Tomo walked over as the two (random people from another class) glared at the young girl and the space cadet. Under the fearsome glare of the girl, the two backed away. Chiyo and Osaka suddenly found themselves with plenty of space to enjoy.

Kaorin could see that many people were looking at the two of them confused, wondering why the two girls had turned up together. Sakaki kept her head down, while Kaorin almost found herself enjoying being seen with Sakaki. Soon Chiyo and an exhausted looking Osaka joined them, standing on the side enjoying plastic cups of orange.

"Hey Chiyo-Chan, we aren't the only ones who came without a boy" said Osaka. "Look Kaorin is with Sakaki."

"So how it's going?" asked Kaorin.

"Tiring. Trying to dance is hard" replied Osaka. "Really hard. How about you?"

"We haven't tried anything yet" said Kaorin. "Dancing that is, we haven't tried any dancing yet."

"You should try, you make a cute couple" said Osaka. "I bet all the boys would be looking at you two if you started to dance." She was quiet. "I bet all of them would definitely look if you danced erotically."

"Uh, Osaka?"

"I was just saying Kaorin" continued Osaka remaining completely unflustered. "Now if you kissed I bet everyone would look…I'm sorry I was saying things without thinking again wasn't I?"

"A bit" agreed Chiyo.

"Anyway you two do make a cute couple- show that other class how to dance!"

"We'll try" said Kaorin who surprised herself by gripping Sakaki's hand tightly. The taller girl didn't pull away.

---

Tomo spotted Koshi and slowly turned before walking away, picking up speed as she stepped into the large garden area. A large landscape of faint hills, pathways bushes and shrubberies greeted her. She began to walk down a small flight of steps onto the lower level of the garden, hoping to hide from the man.

As she rushed towards a tall set of specially grown bushes, the man grabbed hold of her shoulder.

"Tomo, we need to talk."

"Just leave me alone Koshi."

Koshi shook his index finger. "That's not how you talk to a teacher Miss Takino, it's Mr Koshi to you. Well of course for now anyway. When we get more acquainted I'll let you use my first name" he said winking.

"Just leave me alone!" said Tomo. Now she was out here all alone and far away from the building.

"What's going on here then?"

Both Koshi and Tomo turned to find Kimura.

"Just chatting Kimura, talking about how best to prepare for next term when you should hopefully return."

"Yeah." Tomo didn't want Kimura involved. The man would be just as bad, would probably offer to help.

"Well, ok then." Kimura trudged away dejectedly. Koshi waited for the man to vanish, Tomo running off. The man growled and chased after her. She sprinted past bushes trying to find a place to hide. She yelled out as he gripped hold of her arm.

"I always get what I want."

"You're hurting me" said Tomo as he tightened his grip.

"If I see it, and I like it I have it."

_Tap tap. _Someone tapped Koshi on the shoulder.

"What?!"

_Thwack! _

The fist smacked into Koshi's face and the man fell to the floor. Kimura, suddenly looking much fiercer stood above him, holding up his hand gingerly. He looked down at the prone man.

"And that is why they call me Mr Kimura!"

"M-Mr Kimura?" asked a shocked Tomo. She been rescued by Kimura? Kimura actually had a powerful punch?

"Damn straight" replied the man. "Return to the party, I'll take care of this. Then I'll get some ice for my hand, and then I'm going to get my wife back." Punching that creep in the face had reinvigorated Kimura. He decided given the circumstances it was best not to comment on how great Tomo looked in her dress.

---

Tomo soon returned to the main room, a short time before random calls for a dance occurred. Somehow someone had decreed everyone should have one last dance to celebrate the end of the term. Osaka and Chiyo were making their way to the floor (Chiyo pulling Osaka). Nyamo and Yukari had decided to join the students, and were trying to both dance together and outdo one another. Tomo stood watching the couples dance. Of course there was little romance there, the couples having formed in the last few days. But it would have been fun anyway.

"Excuse me?"

"Mr Kimura?" asked Tomo. The man had reappeared, his hand wrapped in a pink handkerchief- his brief appearance as a hero to Tomo had receded already.

"Ah a final dance to end the term and us two stand on the sidelines."

"Yeah." This didn't sound good.

"You know, I was quite the dancer once Tomo."

"Fine then."

"Huh?"

"You helped me so I'll dance with you once- but don't get any ideas!"

"Would I ever do such a thing?"

"Do you really want an answer?"

Kaorin stood with Sakaki, watching Tomo apprehensively approach the other students, many of who gave her shocked looks. She waited for a moment, her and Sakaki the only ones not involved. Finally she turned.

"Well, why don't we go down?" she asked. "And dance."

Sakaki nodded and the two joined the others. Slower music was playing, and the two began to dance, Sakaki finding herself leading. The song continued on for a few more minutes, Kaorin allowing herself to move closer, finding herself within Sakaki's embrace. She could get use to this.


	11. Chapter 11

A joyous Kaorin awoke to the world, flinging open her curtains and looking down at the street before suddenly realizing she was wearing nothing but a skimpy top and panties (it was summer). She yelled and pulled the curtains back across, certain someone had seen her and grinned wildly.

"Note to self, don't do that again" she said aloud. She sat down on her bed, tapping the packed suitcase with her bare feet. Just a few hours to go until she was on her way…

Wait.

Oh no.

The Yukari-mobile. Her, Yukari, Kurosawa, Tomo, Yomi, Chiyo, Osaka, Kagura and of course Sakaki. Apparently five passengers and one driver could squeeze into Kurosawa's car, so that left her with a two in seven chance of horror. It was a shame her mother was away visiting family, as she would have liked to tell her that she loved her one last time.

She pulled on a pair of jeans and a green top before running down the stairs. She sprinted past her father who called out a quick hello, before gripping hold of a glass of orange juice and a bowl of cereal. Sure, she had a few hours left, but she wanted to be completely ready to leave at the stated time. Her father stepped into the kitchen, watching as she chomped down cereal, swallowed juice, and then tried to drink juice while chewing on cereal.

"You do realize you have close to five hours until your friends arrive don't you?" he asked. "You do actually have time to properly chew your food."

"I dow dat dad" replied Kaorin, just about holding in the food. She was glad no one else was here to see this far from charismatic view of her, as she wiped some trickling juice off of her chin.

"I should say something, but since your mother isn't here I wont. After all, I'm planning on having a cookie for breakfast. You keep my secret, no one knows about you being a secret slob."

"Deal."

Her dad pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling from a bag a cookie so large it could easily possess its own gravitational pull. He held it up, staring down at it hungrily. He turned to Kaorin.

"Huh, you and your foolish concept of cereal. I laugh at your attempts to have a healthy breakfast to start your day."

"Shut up dad" said Kaorin in a mock annoyed tone.

"Fine then, I'll just talk sweet nothings to my new child, that I shall call Cook. Cook the cookie."

"You aren't very good at coming up with names are you?" asked Kaorin.

"My dear Kaori, if it hadn't been for your mother, I would have happily just called you _it._"

"Just like I'm happy to call you a dumbass."

"Whatever dear."

She sat, still busy eating her food, but deciding to go at a slightly slower pace, so as not to choke herself. Her father sat, seemingly deep in thought. He knew nothing of what she was feeling, what she wanted to try and do on this trip. He had no idea of the fear she felt, the apprehension over what she planned and hoped to do. She began prodding away at her soggy cereal, breaking it up in the bowl. She'd confessed to one of her friends, she could confess to her father. It was Sakaki she was most worried about. Besides if more people knew, there'd be less shock. Maybe someone might accidentally tell Sakaki, make it easier for her…

No she'd have to do that herself. But there was no point in hiding the truth from her father anymore. She was certain now; this was not just a brief flash, a random act of teenage years. She dropped the spoon into the bowl. Time to take the plunge, take in a deep breath.

"Hey Dad…"

"Hmm Kaori?" spluttered her dad, forgetting he'd just taken a large chunk of cookie.

"I have something to tell you…but I'm not quite sure how…I don't know how you'll act."

"Now honey, drugs are bad, but if you only do them once it's nothing to get…"

"It's not drugs" replied Kaorin. "It's something personal."

"Is this er, a _women thing_" said her father, whispering the final words. "Because I'm not really the expert on that sort of thing."

"Well, I guess it may be slightly like that. It…well it's kind of to with love and stuff like that" said Kaorin awkwardly.

"Oh God, don't tell me I never did the birds and bees stuff."

"You did. I still remember the mental trauma. And I am a teenager."

"You're…you're not pregnant right…?"

"Dad!"

"Just asking, just asking."

"No but, well it's to do with my love life, and confused, and love, well I." She stopped for a moment. This was her father, who'd cared for her since birth, the man who'd been around since before her first memory. If she couldn't even tell her parents she had no chance. "Dad. I think I'm…I am a lesbian."

Her father slowly swallowed what was in his mouth. "You wanna run that by me again."

"I'm, well I'm in love with a girl. Are you disappointed?" she asked bowing her head.

"Of course I am, now I'm going to have to disown you and start a new life in another country." He stood up and walked across to Kaorin, stroking her hair as he sat down. His voice took a serious tone. "Kaori, why would I be disappointed? You are a smart, friendly and cute little…no you're a beautiful young woman. You aren't my little girl any more but you are still my daughter. A daughter who I'm very proud of."

"What?"

"I know how scared you must have been to tell me that, how worried you would be about my reaction. Truth be told I had noticed you acting a bit weird, well weirder then usual anyway. Also you never did show much interest in boys."

"But you're not…"

"This is nothing to be ashamed or disappointed about. Love is, well love. It's all a bit crazy, can cause you pain but there's no better feeling. And I'd much rather have my girl be happy then try to stick to the norm and be miserable. Love and all that can be complicated, but not something to ignore."

"Oh ok. Thanks for understanding!" said Kaorin, surprised. She had got all worked up over nothing- he was her father after all.

"Of course, if I didn't accept it your mother would probably kill me, so this is good for both of us. Oh and Kaorin, you do know that when two women love each other, they can't do the naughty deed normally don't you?"

"Dad…" said Kaorin both cautiously and threateningly. Please no…

"Yes, well I take it you know about oral stimulation don't you Kaori?"

"Dad!" called out a horrified Kaorin.

"That would be a way to make both you and your partner happy. Yes, or you could just use the wide collection of 'toys' that are available out there. You'd be surprised at some of the stuff they put out now. My, if I was a bit younger…" He looked towards his daughter, who was now truly mortified. "Oh and if you need help, I…_found_ yeah that's right, a large collection of lesbian porno. It could give you some tips" said the man. "And don't forget I only found it. No it was given to me, no scrap that I accidentally found it and stored it in the basement for five years."

"Dad!" cried out Kaorin. However videos could prove useful later on…wait no she mustn't think like that…but still she'd want to be able to do well. Great, that was another thing she hadn't thought about. She and Sakaki were growing up, surely urges like _that_ would become stronger with time.

"Oh and…"

"Enough" said Kaorin standing up. "I think I have to go do something."

"Oh ok" said her Dad as she reached the door. "By the way you do know about the clito…" Kaorin broke the speed of sound running along the hallway and up the stairs into her room.

---

"Hey Kaorin your friends are here, I think" called up her father. The man held the door open, Chiyo standing in front of him. "And how do you know Kaori?"

"I'm in her class" replied Chiyo bowing.

"Right then, ok" replied a slightly confused man. This girl didn't look much older then ten. He turned as Kaorin sprinted down the stairs, gripping two bags. Her dad and Chiyo just about moved out of the way in time, Kaorin propelled by her own running and bags out of the door.

"I'll take one of your bags" said Chiyo kindly. Kaorin shook her head.

"That's ok Chiyo-Chan, they're quite heavy, I'll take them."

Chiyo looked up at Kaorin defiantly. "Just because I'm smaller, it doesn't mean I'm weak" she said tearfully.

"No, it's just I wanted to be kind to you. You're helping me after all, it wouldn't be fair to make you carry this stuff" said Kaorin.

"Oh ok then" said Chiyo. "Thank you for your kindness, and please forgive my outburst."

The two traipsed across towards the two waiting cars. Tomo stuck her head out of the window.

"Yo Chiyo, I took your place in Minamo's car, so we only have one space left."

"Oh ok" called back Chiyo. She paused, and turned to look at Kaorin, before both sprinted towards Kurosawa's car. Kaorin, laden with her bags just about finished behind Chiyo.

"That's not kind" said Tomo, sticking her head out of the window. "Kaorin is a guest to your summer house- you should be a good hostess and let Kaorin have this seat. Chiyo bowed her head in defeat.

"You can have the…"

"Thanks" said Kaorin climbing into the car. No Yukari mobile and being cramped alongside Sakaki. The bags were placed in Yukari's car, which seemed to have plenty of space. Chiyo half heartedly pulled open the car door and climbed up onto the backseat. She turned to find Osaka in the brace position.

"Hello Osaka."

"Chiyo-Chan. It's good to have someone to share the pain with."

"I bet I can get to the house before Nyamo" boasted Yukari.

"Oh ok."

"So, how much are you betting?" asked the teacher.

"What?"

"You can't have a bet without actual bets."


	12. Chapter 12

Chiyo and Osaka managed to arrive at the summer home intact physically, if not mentally. Yukari screeched the car to a stop and turned to the two girls.

"We're here. Oh stop shivering, this time I respected the speed limit for most of the journey" she said sighing. "Well help me with the bags ok?"

"We…are…alive" gasped Osaka.

"But at what cost?" replied Chiyo, slowly moving, pulling her head out of her safety position. Both opened their own doors and stepped outside shaking. Chiyo found Kaorin standing in front of her, and the older girl took the two small bags that belonged to Chiyo.

"On the way back I'll go with Yukari Chiyo-Chan" said Kaorin. "It's only fair since you went instead of me on the way down."

"T-thank you Kaorin" said Chiyo. At least the small girl could enjoy her trip without having the threat of the Yukari mobile hanging over her. Already Kaorin noticed a faint swagger as Chiyo's confidence returned, having been torn down by the car trip.

"Wow" said Kaorin, seeing the summer house for the first time. "This is amazing. This belongs to your family?" she asked Chiyo.

The small girl nodded. "It does Miss Kaorin." She reached into one of her equally small pockets. "And here's the key." Kaorin decided not to ask questions as Sakaki and Yomi gripped hold of Tomo, who struggled to break free.

"Hooray it's a vacation!" said Osaka walking behind Chiyo and Kaorin.

"No, this is a perfect opportunity for you to catch up on your studying" said Yukari seriously. "Just screwing with you." The look of horror was still on Osaka's face.

---

Kaorin dumped her bags down and peeked out of the doorway as Tomo ran around in her swimsuit yelling.

"Beach, beach lets go down to the beach!"

"We've only been here twenty minutes" called out Yomi. "Give us some time."

"I've given you twenty minutes!" called back Tomo, now sprinting around the kitchen. "Let's go!"

"I'm ready" said Osaka, appearing just behind Tomo who narrowly avoided hitting the girl in the face with her flailing arms. Osaka stood in a flowery one-piece suit and looked across at Tomo, who seemed to have taken great pleasure in choosing a relatively small two-piece suit.

"What?" asked Tomo.

"You look good in that. I wish I could wear one of those but I wouldn't look good in one."

"Well of course if you compare yourself to me then you'll feel that way. After all, who looks better then me in one of these?" she asked.

"Sakaki-san?" suggested Osaka, who backed away as Tomo glared. "And maybe Yukari-sensei" continued Osaka, not sensing the danger she was currently in. "And we haven't seen Kaorin yet either…" Osaka paused, and then sprinted for the exit as Tomo chased after her. Sprinted for all of three seconds before going at a fast walk.

"Please don't hurt me" said Osaka cowering in a corner.

"Save your quarrels" said Yukari stepping into the room in a robe. "We all know I look the best" she said, pulling off the robe to reveal a skimpy pink two piece. "What da ya think of that then?" she asked.

"I think there's quite a bit of homoerotic tension here" said Osaka in a faraway voice.

"What!?" asked Yukari.

"You're showing off your body to girls and none of us have any boyfriends…I know about myself but you two might be…"

"Ha ha" said Tomo laughing desperately, "Of course I've had boyfriends, I've had loads."

"Really?" asked Osaka, her interest peaked (and returning from dreamworld). "What's it like?"

"Well, it urm, great" said Tomo turning away.

"Wow." Osaka turned to Yukari. "Yukari-sensei, do you think I'll be able to get a boyfriend one day?"

"Er, maybe" said Yukari. Her reply didn't feel Osaka with confidence.

Osaka looked down at her chest. "I bet if I was like Sakaki-san, this wouldn't be a problem." She slowly turned and looked at the girl who had just appeared behind her. "Oh, hello Sakaki-san" she said as the tall girl blushed.

"Kaorin! Chiyo-Chan! Yomi! Kurosawa-sensei we're going to the beach!" called out Tomo, "Let's get going!"

"It's a two minute walk" called down Yomi, "From the front door! We'll be down when we're ready."

---

After just over two hours of doing nothing on the beach, Yukari excused herself.

"I'm just going to go to the seafront stores and get some sake" she said, standing up and dusting off the sand.

"Don't you think you'll need something?" asked Minamo, Yukari still in the skimpy swimwear.

"Of course" said Yukari, pulling on a pair of flip-flops. "Don't want to burn my feet on the hot ground."

Minamo watched as Yukari slowly walked away. The woman stepped into the storefront and grinned as a group of men called out to her. She felt even better as a man looked at her, walked past, continued looking and ended up walking into a wall. Finally, she'd found people who recognized her beauty. She spotted the store she'd need, and was close when she suddenly stopped.

"Holy crap!" she said, reaching out and ripping a poster from the wall. She turned and sprinted back to the beach as a man leant out.

"Hey, I was told to keep that there!"

Yukari paused. Of course- she'd forgotten to buy some drinks.

-

"Students gather!" called out Yukari.

Slowly the group ambled towards the teacher. She stood holding the ripped piece of paper as though it was a special prize.

"What is it Yukari-sensei?" asked Chiyo.

"Look what I found" said Yukari, thrusting out the piece of paper.

"Beach…cheer-leading contest" said Osaka slowly reading the title. "Tonight."

"Cheerleading?" asked Yomi.

"Yukari…" said Minamo.

"Relax Nyamo. This is something we can easily win- especially with me involved" said Yukari. "And look, if you win we get a free Korean barbeque meal at a nearby restaurant, and a hamper of alcohol!"

"It could be fun" said Kagura. "But we wouldn't have much time to prepare."

"It's not about preparation, it's about who looks the hottest!" said Yukari.

"Maybe, what do you think?" asked Kaorin turning to Sakaki.

"I suppose."

"Lets do it!" said Tomo pumping her hands up in the air. "Contest! Victory! Win at all costs."

"That's great since I already signed us up!" said Yukari. "And I'm the captain! I'm going to have to choose four of you to compete later on tonight."

"You're the captain?" asked Minamo. "Didn't you have to take some kind of sanity test?" Yukari glared.

Minamo would spend a long period of time trying to get all of the sand out of her hair.

---

_"Ha, this team would surely win" said Yukari, placing a piece of paper with five scribbled names on the desk. **Me, Sakaki, Kagura, Tomo, Yomi.** "That would be great! That beer and barbeque is mine."_

"I've got the team ready, lets go."

"I don't think I can" said Kagura, groaning as she lay on the couch. "I think I spent too long in the sun."

"Come on, all you have to do is dance for half an hour."

"Ungrawphh" groaned Kagura.

"Where's Yomi?" ask Yukari glancing around the room.

"Sleeping, she stayed up late. Probably eating" said Tomo.

"I heard that!" yelled Yomi.

"Grrrr!" said Yukari so viciously that Chiyo hid behind the couch. "Fine then. Tomo, Sakaki you two are on the team."

"Cool!" said Tomo.

"Ok" said Sakaki. She didn't want to let everyone down.

"Hey Nyamo, you want to join us?"

"No thank you _captain_ I have to go wash my hair again."

"Fine then" said Yukari in a tone as threatening as Minamo. "Kaori, do you want to be on the team?"

"Well, ok" said Kaorin turning to Sakaki.

Yukari paused, looking at Osaka and Chiyo. She'd have to choose one of them. Osaka pointed at herself and then at Chiyo, while Chiyo stood with that cute smile, damn that was so annoyingly cute. Wait, the sports festival, the event that didn't count…

"Chiyo, you're on the team too. I remember your cheerleading at the festival."

"Really? Was I that good?"

"…Yeah."

Osaka followed the group out of the door. "I'll be the official cheerleader of the cheerleading team" she said.

A short time later Kaorin found herself holding pompons standing in front of a small gathering. The majority of the crowd happened to be men, who had taken the opportunity to support the three groups of girls who'd joined up. She'd heard one person muttering complaints about Chiyo, asking why another beautiful girl couldn't be there. Nervous, she stood close to Sakaki as they set themselves up. Chiyo was at the front, in the middle, Tomo on her left, Kaorin on her right. Sakaki and Yukari stood at the ends.

"Good luck Sakaki-san" she whispered.

"Good luck to you too."

Yukari turned smugly to the crowd and as with the others held her pompons aloft as the music started. Cheering came from the crowd as they danced, the whole event a blur for Kaorin, merely following Chiyo. She spotted Osaka dancing in the crowd and holding up two thumbs. Soon the music stopped and the group cheered loudly.

"Well it would seem as though we can choose our two finalists now, the unlucky team to leave is about to find out. The two finalists are Team Alpha, and Team Yukari!"

"Team Yukari?" said Kaorin aloud, as the gathered around Yukari who was grimacing.

"Crap, crap crap" she chanted.

"What is it?" asked Chiyo.

"I've pulled something, I can't stand on my ankle."

"But we have to go back on in a minute Yukari-sensei" said Kaorin.

"Damn it, I can't" replied Yukari. "But if we don't have five people we forfeit."

"How about Osaka Yukari-sensei?" asked Tomo gripping hold of the girl and pulling her forward.

"Well I guess four and a half is better then four."

The group explained this to the host who agreed to let Osaka take Yukari's place, and they stood as the opposition danced.

"We're doomed" muttered Yukari.

"Don't worry, we'll do it" said Osaka. "Isn't that right Chiyo-Chan?"

"Definitely!"

"Lets do it for all of us" said Kaorin.

"And the beer" said Tomo and Yukari in unison.

"Returning without their injured captain, lets hear it for Team Yukari!"

The group cheered as Chiyo reappeared, having won over the crowd simply by being adorable. The others appeared and Tomo took a position on the outside this time, Osaka standing beside Chiyo. Yukari limped into the crowd (But tried to make it seem more serious then it was) and turned to watch her students.

Kaorin and Osaka looked at one another nervously as the music started. Chiyo found herself leading the group, and managed to keep a routine going, the audience cheering her on, the small girl growing in confidence. Kaorin and Osaka focused on Chiyo as the music continued, Tomo and Sakaki in combination with Kaorin providing the _hotness _Yukari had stated was needed. Finally the music ended and the crowd cheered, Osaka stumbling slightly. All that dancing and focusing (for two minutes) had made her tired.

"And the winner is…!"

---

Tomo, Yukari and Osaka slowly moved around Yomi's bed.

"We won!" called out Yukari and Tomo in unison, startling Yomi out of sleep.

"Yay!" said Osaka, failing to realize they had only done this to annoy Yomi.

"Now everyone downstairs for some drinks!" said Yukari. "_And don't wake up Nyamo_" she whispered.


	13. Chapter 13

Yukari gathered the group on the beach and began to hand out the drinks. She held a can in her hand, pausing as she turned to the girls. She held up a finger.

"We won and so we must celebrate with our winnings. Since there's a responsible adult present, I've decided you can enjoy some alcohol!"

"You're the best!" called out Tomo holding up a glass.

"Victors!" called out Chiyo, holding a glass of orange juice, her teacher turning to face the youngest member of the group and class.

"I think it'd probably be best if you stayed away from the booze" said Yukari.

"Don't worry, I will Miss Yukari" replied Chiyo, "I don't really want to try alcohol at the moment, I think I am too young."

"Wuss" muttered Tomo, ducking down as Chiyo turned to face her. This was Chiyo's summer home after all- the small girl might send her away.

Yomi had joined them, and Kagura had just about got out of bed and was staring gingerly at her drink. It wasn't certain that this could end well.

"Lets hear it for the greatest class in the world!" called out Tomo holding up her glass. The others cheered and held up their assortment of cans, bottles and glasses. Mostly everyone let out a faint groan as they downed some of their drinks. Yukari stood unmoved, Tomo shivered slightly and grinned, while Chiyo sipped on her orange juice and turned to look at Kagura, whose face was an odd colour.

"Are you ok Miss Kagura?" she asked.

"I don't think so" groaned the girl.

Kaorin slowly pushed herself along the sand towards Sakaki who was slowly drinking something Yukari had handed her. Sakaki had no preference for a drink, having not had alcohol before, so she had accepted a drink allocated to her by Yukari. She turned to Kaorin as the girl sat close to her.

"I don't know how people can drink lots of this" she said holding up her glass.

"I think it's supposed to improve as you have more" said Kaorin, "You get drunk so you don't notice the taste or something like that."

"I hope so, because this is horrible."

Slowly Kaorin and Sakaki sipped their strong drinks as the group chatted, joked and once even attempted to sing. Osaka found her rhyming talent had completely vanished. Sakaki allowed Mayaa, who had been brought on the trip, to rest on her lap, Kaorin and Sakaki talking to the cat as it mewed in pleasure.

Minamo soon awoke and decided to join the group, shortly after Tomo and Yukari had attempted to construct a haphazard fire, burning logs perilously close to falling over. Osaka joined Tomo in dancing around the fire crazily waving their hands and legs around as the others cheered them on. Sakaki and Kaorin, just like the others continued drinking. Chiyo sat, watching as her friends slowly began to make less and less sense, but seem to make everyone else laugh very easily. Osaka was even ranting something about her pigtails and she promised to protect Chiyo's brain.

"You know, I think we're going to regret this tomorrow" said Kaorin giggling slightly.

"Sp-speak for yourself" replied Sakaki blushing. Without even realizing the tall girl found herself much more at ease speaking. "You know, I think I may be slightly drunk…"

"I think you are too" said Kaorin laughing.

"I…I don't know why you're laughing…you're j-just as drunk as me" said Sakaki.

"Oh no I'm not" said Kaorin. She was silent for a moment. "Wanna go for a…a, a walk that's the one. Do you want to go for a little walk with me?" she asked cautiously. _Please say yes, please say yes._

"W-why not?" asked Sakaki. "I do like the ocean and dolphins and stuff" she said, wobbling as she stood up.

"Yeah, dolphins and stuff are cute _just like you_" she added whispering.

Kaorin too stumbled to get up, blushing as Sakaki held her and helped the girl get steadier. She continued wobbling despite feeling perfectly ok, just to remain in Sakaki's embrace for a short while longer. This was a great feeling.

"It's ok, I'm ok now" said Kaorin, "Actually I'm feeling great right now" she said grinning.

"Well how about that walk then?" said Sakaki.

"Can I come too?" asked Tomo. Kaorin turned and gave her such a hellish look of pure concentrated evil even Tomo realised that meant no. She nodded, sat down and for good measure turned away and engaged in conversation with Osaka.

Together Kaorin and Sakaki traipsed away, walking alongside the gentle sea talking and listening to the waves lapping against the sand. They sat down beside the water, looking out at the night sky.

"It's pretty isn't it?" asked Sakaki.

"Not as pretty as you" replied an intoxicated Kaorin. She giggled as she realized what she'd said. That wasn't so difficult was it?

"Yeah this whole place is great" said Sakaki. "I really like staying here."

"Me too" said Kaorin "I love you, and this place" she said moving closer to Sakaki and resting her head against Sakaki's shoulder.

"You know, you're so adorable" said Sakaki.

"No you are" said Kaorin. "And you're even more adorable when you're wet."

"But I'm not wet" said Sakaki as Kaorin splashed her with seawater.

"Got you."

"D-don't think you'll get away that easily!" said Sakaki placing her hands in the water and splashing Kaorin back. Both giggled as they splashed one another.

"Ha I'll win" said Kaorin, drunkenly climbing onto Sakaki, the two rolling around in the water splashing each other with their free hand. Finally they stopped in a shallow part of the sea, Sakaki sitting on top of Kaorin, hands resting on either side of Kaorin's head in the wet sand. Kaorin looked up adoringly as Sakaki's long wet hair hung down. Kaorin sat blushing as Sakaki looked down at her.

"You're hot" spurted out Kaorin.

Both fell silent before laughing hard. Slowly they stopped, Sakaki still on top of Kaorin. The smaller girl was silent, thinking deeply. She could kiss Sakaki! No, that wouldn't be right, she didn't want their first kiss to be a drunken escapade. It would have to be something special, something both could actually remember.

"Kaorin?" said Sakaki.

"Yes Sakaki-san?" replied the girl.

"I would have joined that club if you had asked me."

With that Sakaki climbed off of Kaorin and both moved up the beach and out of the water. Slowly they fell asleep, Kaorin holding Sakaki in a tight embrace.

_Authors Note: On Saturday I'm moving up to University for my first year, so I'm unsure when I'll update next. I have one and a half chapters ready after this, and I will finish this story. Thank you kind readers and reviewers!_


	14. Chapter 14

Kaorin sat beside the desk groaning as she drank a glass of water. Her head killed her, but moreso, she remembered telling Sakaki that she was _hot. _Sakaki had yet to show any signs of remembering last night. She didn't know whether that was good or bad. What she did know was that Sakaki had called her adorable. A faint ray of hope! But did it hold the type of weight she hoped it did? Had Sakaki's comment been romantic or merely said with the same feeling as Kaorin did towards Chiyo-Chan?

"Oh, everything has to be difficult doesn't it?" she mumbled.

"You didn't drink so much that you forgot how to drink water did you?" asked Osaka, looking from the girl to the glass of water she appeared to be talking to. "Because if you did then I said call an ambulance, it might be bad."

Kaorin looked up at the girl in shocked surprise. "Huh-what?" Oh yeah…it was something said by Osaka. The drinks influence was only part of what she was confused. "Oh I'm fine Osaka; I was just talking out loud."

"Oh ok Miss Kaorin. But don't forget if you have any problems you can come to me" said Osaka in a teacher like tone. "I'm never too busy" she said holding up a thumb.

"…Ok. I'll keep that in mind Osaka" said Kaorin. The other girl nodded and walked outside.

Kaorin thumped her fist down on the table.

"Ow" she said holding it up gingerly. She wouldn't do that again in a hurry.

She'd been able to say the words that escaped her last night. She'd been able to tell Sakaki she loved her…with the aid of alcohol. Perhaps that was a plan…get intoxicated and talk to a sober Sakaki.

"That's a pretty stupid plan" she said to herself, quieter then last time. Osaka may have vanished, but that didn't stop Tomo potentially lurking around somewhere. She wouldn't give up as easily as Osaka had.

Damn it! Why did saying those three words have to be so hard? After all, she was able to say them so well in daydreams and while completely drunk. As long as she was in a dream world or plastered she could do it…just a shame about most of real life. She gulped down the rest of the water and stood up.

"I'll just tell her! I-it shouldn't be too hard should it?"

No letters or complicated plans this time. She'd simply approach the tall girl and tell Sakaki her feelings towards her. They'd been lingering in her for so long, she at least knew what they were. A simple plan, so easy to do.

…So did she find herself unable to move, legs refusing to budge. She felt shaky, her legs wobbling as she slowly sat down. Feeling jittery she took in a deep breath. This could be a problem. She tried to stand up and felt slightly light headed.

This could definitely be a problem.

---

Kaorin leant back in the bed looking up towards the white ceiling. She sighed, gripping a pillow against her chest. Slowly she turned, looking towards the light blue wall. There was a loud tap and a faint creak as the door slowly opened, Yomi stepping inside. Kaorin slowly moved to look at the girl.

"Are you feeling alright Kaorin?" asked Yomi caringly.

Kaorin nodded her head. "I'm just feeling a little off" said Kaorin. "Nothing much, I just feel like laying down."

"What, the drink last night?" asked Yomi smiling. "You and Sakaki seemed to do your best to compete against Tomo and Yukari."

"Where is Tomo?" asked Kaorin.

A sudden yell and a sound of feet running across a wooden floor was followed by a sight of Tomo sprinting by the open door towards one of the toilets. Yomi slowly pushed the door shut as light cursing and _bleugh _like sounds filled the air.

"Tomo decided she could handle much more drink then Yukari and Kurosawa sensei" said Yomi. "She just about managed to last night, but now it's trying to escape."

"So how was Yukari?" asked Kaorin.

"She fell headfirst into the sand and has been sleeping there since. Speaking of which, while me and Chiyo-Chan went and looked for all of you, we found you and Sakaki sleeping together. You seemed pretty comfortable there."

Kaorin suddenly froze. Had her secret been discovered by another one of the group…well actually it would be the first discovery, everyone else who knew had been told.

"Chiyo seemed a bit uncomfortable. I hope you and Sakaki-san didn't do any questionable activities last night" said Yomi laughing.

"What!?" said Kaorin who then tried to control the volume of her voice. "No of course not, why?"

"Calm down" said Yomi gently. "I better go check on Tomo, make sure she hasn't fainted and got her head stuck in the toilet. Her ego would make it difficult to pull out."

"Take care out there" said Kaorin, "And try to keep the mess down, this is Chiyo's place."

"I'll try to" muttered Yomi. "Wish me luck."

---

With her head feeling much clearer, and feeling much stronger in herself, Kaorin rushed down the stairs to get a glass of orange juice. She stood drinking it. She felt a bit better mentally. She must tell Sakaki- if she didn't bring it to an end soon, she might damage herself mentally. That may have been an over exaggeration, but she was sick of the stress she continually felt. It had been a great strain upon her and now she wanted an answer once and for all. And she was also tired of looking like a bit of an idiot in front of Chiyo, the one friend who knew the truth about her.

And Chiyo was the girl who entered the room.

"Hi Miss Kaorin" said Chiyo chirpily. "You look much better then you did earlier" she said grinning.

"Yeah well…"

"But of course, you did look very happy when we found you with Sakaki on the beach" said Chiyo. Kaorin looked awkward as Kaorin looked towards her. "Yes you did seem happy."

"Yeah, well…"

"So Miss Kaorin" said Chiyo, lowering her voice and making sure no one else was around. "Have you told Miss Sakaki yet? I was thinking you might have last night."

Kaorin shook her head. "I haven't yet Chiyo-Chan."

"Miss Kaorin" said Chiyo sadly. "You should try to tell her soon or you may burn yourself out with worry!" she continued anxiously.

"I know." She moved closer to the youngest student in her year. "In fact Chiyo-Chan, I'm planning on telling her today!"

Chiyo's face lit up. "Really?"

"Well…yeah" said Kaorin. She wasn't certain about actually saying anything today, she'd only said that to make Chiyo feel reassured. But she guessed it wouldn't be harmful to talk to Sakaki today.

"That's great Miss Kaorin" said Chiyo, quickly embracing an embarrassed Kaorin in a hug. "Good luck. I'm sure you'll hear what you want to hear."

"I'm kind of hoping for that" said Kaorin. She was really hoping for that answer now.

Chiyo bowed. "Good luck today Miss Kaorin" said the girl. "I'm going to the shop to get some headache tablets for Miss Yukari sensei." Kaorin said bye to the girl and the smaller girl vanished.

Kaorin stood for a moment and then finished the rest of her drink. She stood in silence for a few minutes before some yelling caught her attention. She looked out of the window and watched as Mayaa ran past aggravated. She moved back in shock as a boy suddenly ran past yelling at the cat. She watched as he held up a stone and threw it.

Despite not knowing how she might respond she found herself rushing to the door. There could be more then one of them out there, they might turn on her as well. She pulled open the door and stepped outside. Shocked, she watched as the boy kicked the cat which hissed out weakly.

"Hey! What are you doing!" she yelled out. How dare he hurt an animal like that! Especially Miss Sakaki's cat! She felt angry, really angry. This wasn't right at all!

The boy paused and smirked. "What do you want?" he asked disdainfully.

"Leave that cat alone!"

"Or you'll do what?"

Kaorin held up the phone. "I can easily call the police. And this house is filled with my friends."

The boy paused. He had seen a lot of people in that house recently. Smirking he kicked the cat once more before turning and sprinting away. Kaorin rushed over to the cat and picked up Mayaa who looked up at her weakly.

"Mayaa…" said Kaorin sadly as the cat mewed gently. The cat wasn't in serious danger, but had been hurt.

"K-Kaorin?" asked Sakaki.

Kaorin turned to find Sakaki standing behind her, having recently returned. She glanced once at Kaorin, and then down at the cat.

"M-Mayaa?" asked Sakaki.

"This isn't what it looks like…" said Kaorin, mistakenly using the most guilty sounding tone possible.

Sakaki stood looking dumbfounded. The two girls stood in front of one another for a short time.

"Sakaki- wait!" called out Kaorin. Tearfully Sakaki turned and sprinted back to the house leaving Kaorin alone, holding the injured cat.

"…Sakaki?"


	15. Chapter 15

Kaorin slowly slunk into Yukari's car, half heartedly pulling the door shut. A pale and terrified Osaka looked across at her.

"No one wanted to take my place" she said nervously. The girl fidgeted nervously as Yukari approached and pulled open the car door. Groaning slightly the teacher climbed into the car.

Kaorin barely heard Osaka speak. She found herself depressed, she'd seen the immense upset look of Sakaki as she held the cat. The look of pure disappointment, and perhaps even anger. And all because she had tried to help. She had no idea what Sakaki must think of her right now. She didn't want to think about it…but couldn't stop herself. She had to tell Sakaki it wasn't her who had injured the cat. But she couldn't approach the girl, let alone talk about Mayaa.

"Man, I shouldn't have finished off the rest of that alcohol last night" groaned Yukari.

"What?" asked Osaka, at the most alert she had ever been.

"Never mind Osaka, never mind" replied Yukari hazily.

As Yukari's car roared into life, Osaka gripped her seatbelt in terror, Kaorin merely looking out of the window in despair. She sat watching as the summer home slowly vanished from view, moving further and further away from the docile sea, going more into the countryside. This was supposed to have been the place where she declared her love to Sakaki. The place where in her dreams the two met on a moonlit beach and embraced each other. Or at the very least kissed in the kitchen.

She placed an elbow on the armrest and rested her head on her hand, sighing. She then gripped the seatbelt deep in thought. She couldn't allow herself to give up now, not after all of her worrying and planning. She shocked Osaka out of her terror induced comatose state by smacking down into the middle seat. She wouldn't give up.

"Hey did I hit something?" asked Yukari, craning her head back, paying no attention to the road.

"What? No I just hit the seat" replied Kaorin.

"Oh good, I thought I might have done it again."

"Done what again?" asked Kaorin, Osaka too terrified to speak.

"It's probably best you don't know" replied Yukari.

The two girls in the backseat fell into silence once more, Osaka in a state of panic, Kaorin pondering over what to do, praying that this wasn't a lost cause.

_Please…please let me have a chance still…_

---

Having just about managed to return home safely, Kaorin found herself marching around her room, brooding as she thought over what had happened. Though Sakaki had tried to keep it a secret, Kaorin knew the tall girl did like animals. She just had little idea of how much Sakaki-san truly liked animals. And so, by appearing to have hurt the cat, she would be seen in a very negative light by Sakaki. She doubted Sakaki would actually be angry with her- more upset and disappointed would match her nature.

Standing still, she stared down at the floor. Sakaki **would **be disappointed with her. And very hurt too. The night before she had finally relaxed slightly, opened up to someone- and looked at what she had supposedly seen. But at the same time Sakaki had seemed relaxed around her. Even with the alcohol, she seemed more comfortable around the playful Kaorin that had existed that night then the boisterous Tomo.

She sat staring across at herself in the mirror. A sad almost unrecognizable girl looked back. It was time for Kaorin to tell the truth. The whole truth. What had happened, how she felt for the girl. Time to tell Sakaki her feelings, the feelings she had had for so long now.

She had to.

---

"Have you seen Miss Sakaki today Yomi?" asked Kaorin, back on the first day of the new term.

"I saw her somewhere. She seemed very upset over what happened."

"I didn't do it!" said Kaorin desperately. "I'd never hurt an animal!"

"I believe you Kaorin" replied Yomi. "I can't say I know you as well as the others, but I know that you are a good person. I know you wouldn't do something like that."

Kaorin nodded in agreement. "All I have to do now is try and convince Sakaki of that."

"Hey cat killer!" called out Tomo, grinning as she waved. She looked on in surprise as Kaorin suddenly sprinted away, sobbing.

"What did I do?" she asked Yomi, not noticing the rapidly approaching slap to the back of the head. Both ducked out of the way as a clean shaven Kimura marched along the corridor. The depressed look had been replaced by his usual open mouth appearance. He'd freaked out Kurosawa by talking about the great sex him and his wife had been experiencing. He sighed as he realized he had missed Kaorin.

Kaorin continued running, until she found herself alone in one of the halls, slowly traipsing past lockers deep in thought as she wiped the few half formed tears out of her eyes. She didn't know why everything had to be so hard. She just couldn't comprehend how sometimes life just seemed to continually laugh at her, watch over her as everything went wrong. She tried her best and couldn't even approach someone to tell her what she truly felt. She guessed that she was no more then a coward. A worthless coward who hid away from things that scared her or weren't easy, hoping they'd disappear.

"Kaorin?" asked a familiar voice.

Pretending to flick away a piece of dust, as she actually wiped away a tear, Kaorin glanced up into the face of Sakaki.

"M-miss Sakaki?!" said Kaorin.

"Are you crying?" asked Sakaki.

"What…no!" said Kaorin.

"You seem to be."

"Well…I was. But why should you care?! You should be the one upset, not me! Your cat got hurt and I didn't do anything to help it and now you think I did that to Mayaa and I know I upset you! I'm so sorry!" said Kaorin suddenly gripping the shocked Sakaki.

"K-Kaorin?"

"I-I tried my best and I still couldn't do anything right! I'm sorry Sakaki! I wanted to come and apologize and tell you that I didn't hurt Mayaa, but I can't even do that properly can I?"

"P-please stop crying Kaorin" said Sakaki, now appearing upset, unsure quite how to act, how to make the girl feel better. "I believe you."

"What?" asked Kaorin, looking up.

"Chiyo's summer home has a security camera. It showed a boy hitting Mayaa…and you confronting him."

"…What?"

"You…you did a very brave thing Kaorin, and I got all upset at you and made you feel bad."

"Sakaki?" It was only as the feelings of sadness slowly began to vanish that she realized during her moping she had in fact buried her head in Miss Sakaki's chest. Apologizing profusely she slowly stepped back, secretly grinning inside.

"There's nothing to be upset about. I know what happened. I…I…" said Sakaki. "I want to thank you for helping him. Thank you for stopping that boy Kaorin."

"Oh it was nothing Miss Sakaki" said Kaorin, "Just glad to help."

Falling quiet again, Sakaki nodded, looking slightly awkward. Both girls stood in silence for a period of time, neither quite sure how to break the silence. Finally Kaorin spoke.

"…Miss Sakaki…there's something I have to tell you."

"What?"

"Well…can we go in this room please" said Kaorin, pointing.

Sakaki nodded, and slowly the two stepped into the room. The door eased itself shut, the rest of the world continuing as usual.

---

A short period of time went by as a leaf lazily broke away from its branch, blowing away in the wind as the door remained shut. Low hushed voices continued to be emitted from the room before a cry suddenly rang out. The door was yanked open and Kaorin sprinted away, failing to hold back the tears as she disappeared along the corridor. The door remained open, Sakaki wistfully staring out of the window as the girl vanished. She hated having to have done that to the girl…but what else could she do? Lie and make up feelings that weren't there?

Kaorin wiped the tears away, ignoring Chiyo as the small girl called out worriedly. She continued running, pushing open the main doors and stepping outside. Sobbing uncontrollably she sat beneath one of the trees.

She guessed that was what happened when she tried to let her feelings be known. She knew it had been stupid, there was no way Sakaki would feel that way towards her.

With tears trailing down her cheeks she looked up towards the sky.

_The end… _


	16. Chapter 16

**This is part of a double update, posted as the last entry.**

**The second to last chapter has been posted at the same time, so read that one first before you read this epilogue. **

**Thanks, R.O.TR.**

**Love and all that:**

**Epilogue **

_A few weeks later…_

It was a surprisingly beautiful day outside, especially given the strong wind Kaorin could hear blowing against the wall. She leant back on the bed, looking upwards. She slowly brushed her hair out of her face and smiled.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Osaka, "I mean, you know…"

"Osaka, we never had a problem with it" replied Kaorin. That was true. She'd just been happy to help out a friend.

"That's true" added Sakaki. "We just like to help."

"And just like with every single chapter you've written we never had a problem" said Kaorin. "You wanted to write a romance story."

"But was the lemon chapter necessary?" asked Sakaki. "Was it really necessary?"

Osaka was silent for a moment. "This'll be great! By having a sad ending it'll go completely against what people had been expecting! I'm sure to get some reviews now" said Osaka cheerfully.

"That sounds great" said Sakaki. "I hope it does even better then it has so far."

"Yeah, and we got to have a story written about us" said Kaorin, resting her head on Sakaki's legs. "I've never had that happen before."

"Well, I don't have many friends involved in romantic relationships of your nature" said Osaka. "And thanks for helping me out, this story has made me really popular with the community."

"That's great" said Kaorin. "Oh, hey Sakaki we better get going or we'll miss the start of the film."

"See you later then" said Osaka, waving as the two stood up to leave. She continued waving with a blank expression as Sakaki and Kaorin stood kissing in the doorway. Sakaki and Kaorin slowly stopped, noticing that Osaka was still looking at them. Slowly she turned away, the girls stepping outside into the hallway.

The two girls left, sprinting down the stairs. Kaorin allowed herself to look across at Sakaki, just as beautiful as always as the tall girl slowed down slightly to allow Kaorin to run beside her. She thanked her, the two holding hands.

The two had spoken after they had met in the school hall all those weeks ago, Kaorin finally allowing herself to reveal all of her feelings. She had been scared at first, Sakaki didn't seem to respond. However finally Sakaki had admitted she actually had feelings for Kaorin too…she'd just be _too shy _to come forward and thought Kaorin wouldn't be interested in her. A short while later they had enjoyed their first kiss, and had revealed the truth to the rest of their friends. Osaka took a while to comprehend what it meant, Tomo ganging up on Chiyo for not revealing the truth to them. The actual events had been far different to Osaka's fanfic conclusion. Which delighted Kaorin.

Sakaki stopped, holding the door open for Kaorin as she stepped outside. The wind blew through Sakaki's long hair as the two kissed once more. Kaorin slowly moved back grinning. Sakaki stood with a warm smile on her face. She had been doing that a lot more recently.

Kaorin guessed good things could happen.

If you just took a chance.

The (real) End.

(Aren't I a bastard?)

_Author's note: A great big thank you to all of the readers and reviewers who helped to make this my most successful story! And to think this started as a oneshot written at midnight._

_Thank you all!_


End file.
